A New Day Gone Bye
by TheBigBadWolf1
Summary: Lee Everett was walking back from a day's work when he was mugged and stabbed, almost losing his life. He wakes up a few weeks in the hospital after a deep coma. He meets another patient, Rick Grimes, and discovers that the world has forever been changed for the worse...
1. Chapter 1 - Days Gone Bye

The Walking Dead: A New Day Gone By

Chapter 1 – Days Gone By

**Disclaimer: I do not own the TV Show, the comic books or the game of The Walking Dead. **

**Hello guys, I am back with a brand new fanfic. I'm gonna explain it real quick, it's a mix of the game, comics and TV Show all in one. Enjoy!**

Lee hated Thursdays. He always had to start working early and then he would end his daily job already late in the day. It's not that he detested his job as a History teacher; after all it was his passion. But he couldn't help but to feel exhausted, all he wanted was to lay on his bed and kiss his wife Deborah.

The sun was setting beyond the tall buildings of Atlanta, painting the skies in shades of purple and brown. It was quite a view, and it almost made up the tiring day he had. Lee found himself strolling down the street towards his house, which was only ten more minutes away.

"Hey, hey, man…" Lee was pulled away from his gazing at the sky when someone talked to him. He nudged his head and noticed an individual standing in front of him. He was tall, about as much as Lee, and he wore jeans and sneakers. He donned a black shirt and the man had his hoodie on, clouting his visage.

"Can I help you, sir?" Lee asked, halting in front of the man.

"Gimme the wallet, bro!" The dude ordered lowly. Lee enlarged his eyes and raised his eyebrows and he realized what was going on. And when he glanced at the man's hand, he spotted a sharp knife intertwined in his fingers.

"Oh, okay, okay…don't be hasty…" Lee pleaded, now fearing for his life. He slowly reached for his wallet with tremble hands, hoping that someone would pass by and call the police. He removed the object and tossed it at the man.

"Thanks." He said casually as he grinned and put the wallet on his pocket. "I'm sorry. Can't have no witnesses." He grumbled before he thrust the knife into Lee's stomach.

Lee expelled all the air contained in his lungs. He bent over his body as the man pulled out the knife, taking pieces of flesh and skin in its blade. The guy's smile vanished, and then he turned away and started running, ducking into an alley and forever disappearing.

The urban man fell on his knees and his nervous system carried pulsating aches all over his body. He passed a hand on the wound and was only able to see that his hand was stained with blood. The world around him became blurry and deaf, before his body collided against the floor sideways.

And then there was darkness.

…

Lee opened his eyes briefly. He wasn't too sure of what happening around him. He was half-conscious, half-asleep. His hearing was muffled and whenever he saw something move he saw it dragging slowly, like a videogame with lag. He listened non-stop to an electronic beeping sound. His dorsal spine was comforted with the mattress of a bed and he felt the tissue of a hospital garment upon his limbs.

Suddenly, he heard a loud sound, waking him up back to reality. He tried to focus his senses to recognize what it is. As he started regaining consciousness over time, he noted that it was a mix of screams, groaning and guns firing.

What the hell was going on? "Nurse?!" Lee shouted in a feeble voice. He turned his head and spotted a vase positioned on the bedside table. It was decorated with various flowers of beautiful colors with a card attached to it, saying 'You weren't awake. I hope you get better, and know that I love you very much, Deborah'.

Lee was actually surprised that his wife had left him a 'get better' gift for him. Ever since a few months back, their relationship had become a bit affected by the different desires they had and he didn't know that his wife had such consideration for him.

Lee shook his head, he had to get back on track. He raised his head and tried to move, but his bones were like glass and he was being stopped by IV tubes and all kinds of mechanisms attached to his body. "Nurse?! Someone?!" He cried out.

Then the door opened. He saw a man within his mid-30's, bearing sheriff clothes. The holster, the star badge on the chest, everything. He had a Glock 17 firm in his hand. He had curly black hair and a serious face.

"Holy shit!" He muttered in astonishment, as he fired a few bullets at the hallway. In the background, flashes and blood were splashing onto the wall. Lee gasped; was he shooting at people?! "Look, man, my name's Shane Walsh, and there's no time. Just take this," He commanded, as he raised the bottom of his pants and took out a six revolver, before he hurled it on Lee's lap. "And be safe."

"Wait, what the hell's happening out there?!" Lee demanded, wanting to take out all the cables to chase the officer.

"Look, there's no time, okay?! Sorry!" Officer Shane excused himself, before he shut tight the door. On the outside, Lee heard him push something against his door.

Lee began having a headache and his muscles felt extremely tired. The only thing he managed to do was drop dead on the cot, as his brain was switched off temporarily.

…

Lee was awakened. He leaped onto his butt, like a person that had been just reanimated. He inhaled some deep breaths as he gathered his bearings, sorting out his thoughts.

But then he noticed something bizarre. There were no longer noises. All of the equipment chained to him was turned off. The small clock hung on the wall had ceased to function. The flowers next to him had withered.

Then he heard the door creak. He raised his head as quick as a rabbit who hears a strange sound coming from the forest. And he noticed a silhouette entering the room. "Shane?" He inquired.

But once he saw the person he noticed that he wasn't who he expected. The man was wearing a t-shirt, jeans and show, although the bandages he had involved around a few of his body parts indicated he was a patient. He had bright blue eyes and curly dark brown hair streaming down his skull. He was breathing heavily.

"Hey! Can you help me?" Lee beseeched, essaying to expel the cables buried in his veins.

"Who…who are you?" The man enquired.

"My name's Lee Everett." He presented himself with a certain impatience.

"I'm…I'm Rick Grimes." The patient told Lee his name. He examined his surroundings and walked towards him, aiding him in taking off the equipment. He seemed to be having trouble moving; just like Lee. "Did…did you mention someone named Shane?"

Lee tossed away the last cable, before he set his foot on the ground. The weeks he spent in coma made him rusty, and he almost collapsed at first. He then slowly rose, before he was at Rick's height.

"Yeah. I think…a few days ago…this guy came by, called Shane Walsh." Lee informed, making Rick inherit a shocked expression. "Know him?"

"He's…he's a friend of mine. Me and him, we were partners." He elucidated with some excitement in his voice, albeit his gaze was focused on the empty, white wall. "Do you know where he went?"

"Not a clue. Sorry." Lee sadly explained, shaking his head.

"Damn." Rick mumbled, wrapping his hands around his ribs.

"Do you have any idea of what's going on?" Lee enquired with curiosity. "Few days back, I heard gunfire. Blood. A lot of chaos went down."

"I don't know anything." Rick admitted, scrubbing his hair. "I woke up from coma just a few minutes ago…and found out the hospital is empty. Saw a few corpses outside. And then I heard a noise coming from here." He took a brief pause. "Your clothes should be on that drawers over there. Get dressed."

…

After Lee was dressed in his usual clothing, blue shirt, brown jeans and shoes, he was good to go. And he had remembered to store his revolver in his belt.

He and Rick stepped out into the hall. The zone was devastated. Medical barrows were littering the floor along with rotten cadavers; all had been sprayed with bullets across their bodies. Lee had to cover his nose as the duo began walking, searching for someone.

"How'd you end up in here?" Rick asked. Both him and Lee were limping, clutching onto their injuries.

"I was mugged. And stabbed." Lee added with a sigh.

"I was shot. Me and Shane, were in the middle of a crossfire." Rick explained. "Was this guy, firin' at us. We tried to pull a move, but it went bad. And then I got hit."

"Wait, what the hell?" Lee rambled, jabbing his finger at the end of the hallway.

Rick and Lee shifted their attention to a pair of doors at the end of the corridor. Its handles were blocked by a wooden plank. Even scarier, the following message had been written, 'DON'T OPEN DEAD INSIDE'.

Rick and Lee exchanged a look. "Should we go there?" Lee proposed. Rick didn't reply, but it was apparent that there was no other way.

They strode towards the double door and removed the board. And then they pulled open the doors.

But they froze once they gaped inside. A bunch of bodies, all of them of different genders and age groups, were inside the room. But they weren't dead. They were walking around.

Suddenly, the nearest zombie lunged at Rick, gripping his collar. "Shit!" Rick screamed, the walker pinning him against the door. Lee reacted and raised the plank he clung onto to, and then stroke the zombie in its head. The second he did that effort, he had to arch his chest a bit from a dazzling pain coming from his torso.

The hit stunned the zombie and allowed Rick to escape, but it didn't affect him much. The next second, dozens of more of those reanimated corpses began storming out of the room, trekking toward them.

"Fuck! What are these things?!" Lee yelled, as he backed away a few steps.

"Over here!" Rick hollered, as he opened an emergency exit. Lee thundered inside and so did Rick, before he shuttered the door with no hesitation.

Lee leaned on his knees and panted a little, Rick doing the same whilst leaning on the wall. "What the hell…was that?!" Lee stuttered, as he stood in a normal posture.

"Don't know! But we gotta keep movin'." Rick stated, before the two men began pacing down the stairs, which led to a door that allowed them to go to the hospital's exterior.

Lee pushed open the door, and the landscape in front of them was apocalyptic. An ocean of dead bodies, all of them cloaked with sheets that were stained with blood and grime. A helicopter had violently crashed in the woods, taking down a few trees and burning most of the grass nearby.

"Jesus Christ…" Lee whispered, seeing the slaughter in front of him.


	2. Chapter 2 - The Walkers

**The Walking Dead: A New Day Gone Bye**

**Chapter 2 – The Walkers**

Rick and Lee limped slowly among all of the corpses, clouted with blankets kept shut by ropes. Patches of flies hovered above the bodies, biting little bits of the dead humans. The duo's jaws shook up and down, wanting to let out shocked gasps, but all that came to surface was their gag reflex, pushing their stomachs' content to their mouth. Sometimes, a head or a pair of feet would be popping out of those white sheets. The worst thing was their maroon rotten skin taint and the awful smell.

As they reached the entrance, they noticed that the hospital sign had fallen and was now just a mess of debris.

"What…wha…happened…here?" Lee stuttered, frightened by the death they had seen just behind their backs. Rick didn't reply, he just constrained his face in agonized expressions.

The two men just kept walking into an uncertain destination. The more they walked, the more destruction they saw. They kept spotting military bases and buildings with their walls burned to ashes. Besides the helicopter, there were other tons of military equipment. Crates, armor, vehicles, sandbag barricades, all of it littering the scenery around them.

Suddenly, they came across a red bicycle tossed on the ground. A few feet away from them, was the cadaver of a woman. Its legs were missing, leaving its intestines splattered on the grass. The zombie became aware of the human flesh and opened its eyes, before it began crawling towards.

Rick and Lee took a few steps back, almost tripping at the horrifying scene. Lee could swore he saw a tear leaking down Rick's eyeball, but he swoop his palm across his face to clean it. "There." Rick blurted out, pointing his finger at a house. The residential house was a simple place, located in the suburbed neighborhood they were in.

"What?" Lee asked, not knowing why Rick was pointing out that house.

"It's where I live." Rick disclosed before he strolled towards it in a quick pace, probably anxious to check on his family. Lee took a last glance at the bifurcated woman before he followed Rick.

Rick stormed into the house. "Lori?! Carl?!" He called out, examining the divisions and looking around in every direction. Since it was Rick's house, Lee stayed outside, keeping watch he supposed. He spun around and gazed at the suburbs. All of the houses had broken windows. There were deteriorated buildings and objects arranged messily in every corner. Like the rest of the world.

And then unexpectedly, he saw a person walking down the drive. He cracked a smile; they finally had found someone who could tell them what was going on. He couldn't distinguish anything about the individual.

But then his head was struck violently by a shovel, sending Lee to bite the dust. He stretched out on the ground, half unconscious. He managed to turn his head and spot his attacker, to which his surprise was just a kid. "Daddy! Daddy!" The African-American boy shouted out.

"Help…" Lee mumbled.

"Daddy, I got this son bitch, I'm a smack 'im dead!" The kid yelled, preparing to throw a final blow.

Lee looked down a road and saw another man appear; of African-American ethnicity too. He was probably the boy's father. The man walked up to the individual Lee had seen and fired into its skull, killing it instantly.

The man ran up to the boy. "He say somethin'?! Kinda heard him say something!" The man demanded at the boy.

"He said 'Help'." The boy quoted, panting.

"Son, you know they don't talk." The man soothed his son, before Lee faded out.

…

Lee woke up once again from a dazzled state of unconsciousness; which began to become an unnerving habitude. But this time he had a comfy pillow under his head and was lying on a bed. The boy that hit him was standing near the bed, with a baseball bat in hand. He wore a red shirt along with brown trousers. Besides him, Lee noticed Rick in the corner, chewing his thumbnail and Morgan was standing by a chest of drawers, drowning a rag in a bucket of water. All of the room's windows were clouted by curtains and the only light present inside came from candles.

"Got that bandage changed now." The man spoke. "Was pretty big. What was it? The wound."

"Stab." Lee rambled on, before he noted that his hands were tied by ropes. "Rick…"

"Hey, it's okay Lee." Rick soothed his new made friend. "This here's Morgan and that's Duane. They took us in."

Morgan approached Lee and lowered his face near Lee's. "Did you get bit?!" He inquired in a dead serious tone.

"Bit?" Lee repeated, not quite understanding the question.

"Bit. Chewed, maybe scratched." Morgan elaborated, moving his head as he enumerated possibilities. "Anythin' like that."

"Nah." Lee asserted in a firm voice. "Just stabbed."

Morgan set his hand on Lee's forehead, but Lee retracted it. "Let me." Morgan instructed, as he placed his fingers on his forehead. After a second, he looked at Duane. "He's cooling. Fever would've killed him by now."

Morgan pulled out a knife and cut off Lee's restraints. Lee slowly sat on the bed, letting his sore bones crack. "Come on out when you're able. C'mon." Morgan sputtered before he grabbed his son's shoulder lightly and they both exited the room.

"What the hell's happening, Rick?" Lee enquired, as Rick walked to the other side of the bed to help Lee up.

"Duane accidentally hit you in the head with a shovel." Rick explained, pulling Lee up by his armpits. "They took us in and want us to have dinner with them."

Rick and Lee walked around the house, who had each of its divisions lit with candles. "This house…it was Fred's and Cindy's Drake. Morgan told me it was empty when they found it."

"About your family…they weren't there, were they?" Lee said in a low tone, hoping that he wasn't touching a weak spot.

"No." Rick admitted, scratching his head. "But they're alive, I know it. All of our photo albums, family picture, gone." Rick elucidated, looking at Lee. "Only my wife could've taken those. They're out there, somewhere."

The duo arrived in the living room. Duane and Morgan were gathered around a table, serving four plates with forks, knives, and some kind of meat. They both raised their heads once they laid eyes on them. Lee walked up to a window and essayed to push away one of the sheets before Morgan stopped him.

"Don't do that." Morgan adverted, making Lee halt and pace toward the table. "They'll see the light." Morgan conceded as he kept filling plates with food. "There's more of them out there than usual. I never should've fired that gun today. Sound draws them, now they're all over the street. Stupid…using a gun…it all happened so fast…I didn't think."

Rick, Lee, Morgan and Duane all took a seat. "You shot that man today." Rick faced Morgan.

"Damn, that were no man." Duane remarked, causing Morgan to shoot him an eyeful.

"What the hell was that just out your mouth?" He reprehended, spitting those words to fast to be understood.

Duane sighed. "It wasn't a man." Duane said in a politer manner.

"You shot him. Out on the street, today." Rick insisted.

"For him, you need glasses. That was a walker." Morgan explained in a patient tone.

"Walker?" Lee repeated in a perplexed face.

Morgan let out a groan. "C'mon, eat, before you two fall down." Morgan jabbed his hand at the two plates decorated with food, ready to be eaten.

"Daddy. Blessing." Duane voiced, his father nodding in agreement. Morgan lent Duane his hand, to which he gripped, and then did the same with Lee. Lee hesitated a bit, he never had been the most religious type, but it was this family's will. The four men gave hands.

"Father, we thank thee for this food." Morgan began preaching, as the quartet closed their eyes, hearing Morgan's oration. "Thy blessing. We ask you to watch over us in these crazy days."

"Amen." The small crowd of people chanted. Then they grabbed their forks and began eating.

"Rick and Lee." The duo rose their heads at the mention of their names. "Do you even know what's goin' on?"

"We woke up in a hospital. Came home and that's all we know." Rick stated before replenishing his mouth with more meat.

Duane and Morgan exchanged a preoccupied look. Morgan rubbed his fingers through his chin. "But you know about the dead people, right?" Morgan inquired.

"Yeah. We saw a lot of that." Lee admitted. The food was the greatest but he had spent weeks for all he knew with an empty stomach, and it just felt great to have something in his organs. "Out on the loading dock, hauling trucks."

"No…not the ones they put down. The ones they didn't. The walkers." Morgan said. "Like the one I shot today, would've ripped into you. Try to eat you, take him some flesh at least." Lee and Rick looked at each other with puzzled and concerned facial expressions. "If this is the first you're hearing…I know how it must sound."

"They're out there now, on the street?" Rick asked.

"Yeah." Morgan instantly responded with a nod. "They're even more active after dark sometimes. Maybe it's the cool air or…hell, maybe it's just me firin' that gun today. But we'll be fine as long we stay quiet. Probably wonder off by morning. Media started switching off one by one. Before they stopped broadcasting, they told folks to gather by the bigger cities, said they were protectin' them. But I decided to take my chances here."

Rick and Lee remained silent. It was a lot to take in; discovering that the world had descended into catastrophe due to some kind of walking bodies that ate people. Morgan intertwined his fingers. "Well listen. One thing I do know: don't get bit. Saw your bandages and that's what we were afraid of. Bites…kill ya, fever burns you out. But then after a while…you come back."

"Seen it happen." Duane spoke up after minutes of silence. Morgan nudged his shoulder to comfort him with a happy smirk.

"Did you two know each other before all this went down?" Morgan casually asked.

"No. Met 'im at the hospital." Rick told him. Then the four people kept eating, enjoying their blessing.

**…**

Dinner had gone well, and a full stomach after, the small gang was resting in the living room. Morgan had all kinds of mattresses arranged around in the room. He sat in one of them with Duane half-sleeping next to him. Rick and Lee were lying in different cots themselves.

"Dad…did you ask 'im?" Duane quizzed, his voice muffled by a pillow.

Morgan let out a low chuckle. "Me and my boy…got a bet goin' on. Your gunshot wound…he thinks you're a bank robber."

Both Lee and Rick giggled a bit too. "Yeah. That's me." Rick jokingly assented. "Deadly as Dillinger. Kapow. Sheriff's deputy."

"Aha." Morgan agreed, before a deafening sound of a car alarm going off came from outside. Duane almost jumped out of his bed before Morgan smoothed him down. "It's okay, it's fine, daddy's here. One of them must've bumped into a car."

"Are you sure?" Lee admonished, as the three adults began standing up.

"Yeah, happened once before. Get the light, Duane." Morgan commanded. His son reached for the lamp and turned it off. Morgan carefully pushed away one of the sheets and the three adults peeked. "It's the blue one, same as last time. I think we're okay."

Through the crack, they could see a blue vehicle blinking its lights like a rave party. Duane approached the three men and gaped outside too. "That noise. Will it bring more of them?" Lee questioned Morgan.

Suddenly, Duane spotted a zombie woman, which seemed to upset him. "She's here." The boy muttered.

"Stay away from the windows." Morgan ordered. His son sprinted towards the bed and leaped onto it, loudly sobbing. Morgan sat next to him to calm him down. His crying was gonna attract walkers. "Shh, shh, it's okay. Be quiet."

Rick and Lee backed away from the window, carefully covering it with the curtain once again. Then they both sat near Morgan. Duane's face was buried in his lap.

"She, uh…died on that room, on that bed." Morgan explained with sadness, whilst shaking his head. "Nothin' I can do 'bout it here. That fever, man! Her skin gave off heat like a furnace. Should've put her down, should've put her down, I know, but…! Y'know what?" Morgan continued, wiping a tear. "I just didn't have it in me. She's the mother of my child."

Lee gulped after hearing the man's backstory. He twitched his head toward the door, and saw the door handle twisting around. Although the door was shut tight by nailed planks and a lock. So Duane's reanimated mother wasn't getting inside.

**A/N: Sorry that there weren't that many changes in this chapter, but it was necessary so Lee and Rick could learn about the virus. A lot of things are gonna change in the next chapters though, and thanks for all the support you've been giving me, you guys are awesome!**


	3. Chapter 3 - Lock N' Load

**The Walking Dead: A New Day Gone Bye**

**Chapter 3 – Lock N' Load**

Despite all of the walkers outside the house the previous night, the gang had managed to get some sleep. The following morning, Rick had told the group that he still had the keys to the local precinct, where they would manage to get guns and a vehicle. Everybody agreed on the plan, and Morgan had driven the group to their destination in his car.

Rick fished the key out of his pocket and began twisting on the lock, whilst Lee, Morgan and Duane were gathered behind him. "I hope you, uh, don't mind my boy and I takin' residence in your neighbors'." Morgan said. "You bein' a cop an' all."

"I ain't gonna arrest you if that's what you mean." Rick asserted as he looked at Morgan. "All of the others seemed looted, you seem to be fixin' up the place. The Drake will probably thank you when they get back."

Rick opened the door. Since the building was dipped in darkness inside, they took some flashlights out of their pockets and beamed their light inside. They spotted file cabinets and desks, crammed with dossiers and papers sloppily arranged. And of course, there was a coffee machine and an empty donut box. "It's not like we're…stealing the place." Morgan affirmed as they proceeded through the twilight. "Your neighborhood just seemed safer and we're not hurtin' anybody."

"You don't have to justify anythin' to me, Morgan." Rick ratified, as he led the group into a washroom, which was illuminated by a few windows. To spare the batteries, they switched off the devices.

The washroom was like any other. On one side there was a row of metallic lockers, in the middle a row of benches and on the opposite side a row of showers. "I could use a shower right now." Lee commented.

"Speakin' of which…" Rick mumbled as he walked towards the shower. He turned the handle and everybody was surprised like they had just seen a magic trick when water began streaming down.

"Gas and light have been down for maybe a month." Morgan guaranteed in amazement as he saw the flow of the water.

"Station's got its own propane system." Rick explained. He placed a hand on the water which adhered to his palm, before he grinned from ear to ear and gazed at the group. "Pilot's still on."

…

Now that Rick had announced that there was hot water, the four men were naked, each one under a shower. They were separated by cubicles though, to preserve their privacy, rejoicing with water and toiletries.

"Oh my Lord!" Morgan sputtered in happiness with his skull foaming of shampoo. Rick, who was shaving, couldn't avoid letting out a smirk.

"Ho-t wat-ter!" Duane stuttered in celebration.

"Man that feels good, right?" Lee inquired out loud, passing his hand through his hair.

"Bring it around, bring it around, bring it around, oh yeah!" Duane sang as he danced and bathed himself. "Wha-what did you say, uh…"

…

Four baths later, the group couldn't have their spirits as high as they were now. They had found towels and fresh clothes to cover their bodies and things were going relatively well.

"If you'll excuse me, I have to go get something." Rick articulated. The group nodded in agreement before he waltzed out of there.

"Duane, go get dressed in that room over there." Morgan jabbed his finger at an adjoining room, as he offered his son clothes. Duane nodded and grabbed the garments, before he vanished into the other room.

Lee moved his hand through the bandage on his stomach. It hurt him every goddamned second of the day. "How'd you get stabbed?" Morgan asked. The two men were sitting on the benches.

"I work up at UGA. Got mugged on my way back home. And then it went bad." Lee articulated with honesty.

"Must be tough to face. Wake up in the hospital, only to find that those walkers lurk around every corner." Morgan estimated. "Got family?"

"My wife, Deborah." Lee stated with sadness. "We lived up near Atlanta, so that's where I'm headin'. She'll probably be there."

"That's where we were headin'' too." Morgan told him with his tremble voice, like he always did when he referred to his wife. "Things got crazy. Man, you won't believe. The panic. Streets won't fit to be on, and then we'll…" Morgan took a brief pause. He gaped to his side to verify that Duane wasn't listening before he glanced at Lee again. "My wife…couldn't travel. No, not with our herds, so we had to find a place to lay low." Lee heard the man with attention. "And then after she died…" He glared to his side again. "We just hunkered down. I guess we just froze in place."

"Plan to move on?" Lee asked. After all if he and Duane came with them, they'd be safer.

"Haven't worked up to it yet." Morgan smirked as he dressed a blue t-shirt.

The next minute, Rick stormed into the room with a confident look. He was donning proudly a sheriff's hat, a brown t-shirt with the star badge on it, brown pants and shoes. Around his waist was a holster with a Colt Python; probably his signature weapon; along with other pockets, two walkie-talkies and a nightstick.

"That getup certainly suits you." Lee joked with a chuckle, just as Duane came in the room dressed with his red shirt and jeans.

"Figured since they got them safe-zones up in Atlanta, it'd be easier to get around as a cop." Rick elucidated. "C'mon, follow me."

Lee rose from the seating and Morgan did too, with Duane on his tail. They followed Rick through the gloomy foundations; that was now brighter; until they stopped in front of a large metal cage, replenished with guns. Revolvers, shotguns, handguns, it had it all.

Rick unlocked the padlock with his key and they entered the cage, staring at all of the weaponry. Morgan picked up a shotgun and examined it. "Shells are in the cabinet below the rack." Rick informed, as Duane tip-toed to see past the grown-ups.

"Dad, can I learn how to shoot?" Duane quizzed, as Morgan folded his sleeves. "I'm old enough."

"Hell yes you're gonna learn." Morgan immediately agreed. "We gotta do it carefully, teach you to respect the weapon."

"He's right, it's not a toy." Rick wisely adverted, jabbing his finger on Duane's chest. "You pull the trigger, you gotta mean it. Always remember that, Duane."

"Yes sir." Duane consented with a nod.

Lee looked around at all the guns, feeling a bit lost. He picked up the first handgun he saw and passed it from hand to hand.

"That's a Glock 22." Rick elucidated, as he investigated a sniper rifle. "Y'know how to shoot of those things, Lee?"

"Actually, no." Lee admitted, as he kept trying out different ways to hold it. "Seen it in movies, but never fired."

"You just pull the slide." Rick instructed, pointing at the different parts of the weapon. "Press that button to check the clip. Put the safety on to make sure you don't hit yourself in the leg."

Lee nodded before Rick butted his sniper rifle against his shoulder and glanced down the scope. Lee clicked the button like he was told to and a magazine came popping out of the handle. It looked to be full, so Lee pushed it back in. Then he plucked the slide on top and heard a metallic sound; probably the bullet entering the chamber. He pushed the safety on and stored the gun on his belt.

Rick offered his rifle to Morgan. "Take that one. Nothin' fancy, scope's accurate." He explained as he resumed his task of fiddling with the guns.

Duane was laying in the corner, filling a duffel bag with all kinds of ammunition box. Lee kept examining the variety of weapons, in order to get acquainted with them.

…

Now that they had about three duffel bags full of guns, they were well-equipped and ready to fight off any horde. Rick led the gang outside, and they all became blind from the daylight because they had grown costumed to the bleakness inside.

"Conserve your ammo." Rick advised, as they stepped out into a parking lot. "Goes faster than you think. Especially in target practice."

They walked among the tall, brick walls until they came across two police cars. Its blue and white paint job was littered with dust from its abandonment, but the words sheriff on the side were clear and there were the mighty blue and red lights on top of the ceiling.

"Duane, take this to car." Morgan commanded, passing his son a bag of guns. He nodded and paced towards the other vehicle which they were taking.

"Are you sure you won't come along?" Lee inquired, to certify that he was sure of his decision. "There's no going back after this."

Morgan removed a hat he was donning from his head and scrubbed his hand over his bald head. "A few more days…Duane will know how to shoot and I won't be so rusty."

Rick bent inside the car as Morgan took a peek at his son, who was hauling weaponry into their vehicle. "You got one better." Rick said as he gave Morgan a walkie-talkie. "I'll turn my on a few minutes every day at dawn. You get up there, that's how you find me."

"You think they're there?" Morgan asked as he walked around the car.

"Can't afford not to." Rick professed. "Not anymore."

"Listen, just one more thing." Morgan pointed out, as Duane finished up loading the guns on their car and Lee tossed another shipment of weaponry on the back seat of the police vehicle. "They might not seem like much at the time. But in a group all round up and hungry? Man you watch your ass."

"You too." Rick wished him good luck.

Morgan shook Rick's hand, and then followed to shake Lee's. "You're a good man, Rick. I hope both of you find what you're lookin' for."

Lee shook little Duane's hand. "Good luck, Duane. Keep an eye out for your old man." He said in a friendly tone, receiving a nod in exchange.

Suddenly, they heard the metal fence surrounding them being raddled. They turned around and saw a walker, clawing against them. He also wore police garments and his facial features were hidden by the decay. His radio was hanging from his shoulder.

"Leon Bassett. Didn't think much of him. Careless and dumb, but…" Rick stated, as he gazed at the corpse. "Can't leave him like this."

"Won't they hear the shot?" Lee recalled what Morgan had said about attracting walkers with noise.

"We won't be here when they get here." Rick affirmed, as he unlocked his holster.

"C'mon Duane." Morgan told his son as both of them rushed over to their car. Lee did the same, and he sat in the passenger seat of their car.

He turned his head and saw Rick pulling out his Colt Python and aiming it at Leon's head. He didn't want to see the man's brains being blown out, but he had to grow onto seeing those kind of things by then.

The bullet echoed for miles as it went through Leon's head. His brains and blood were splattered on the air, and Lee could hear the fence ringing as his cold fingers scrolled down through it.

Rick ran back to the driver's seat and switched on the ignition. Before long, the two duo of men were speeding down the road, each one in their different direction.

"So Atlanta's our next stop?" Lee asked as he looked down the desolated road.

"Yes, it is Lee. We're gonna find our families." Rick asserted as he adjusted the rearview. And they kept on driving.

**A/N: And thus concludes this chapter, fellow readers. Hope you have enjoyed it, and check back frequently for updates. The next chapters will have more elements from the game, so don't worry! See ya!**

** "****This ain't a democracy anymore!" – Rick Grimes.**


	4. Chapter 4 - Riding Dirty

**The Walking Dead: A New Day Gone Bye**

**Chapter 4 – Riding Dirty**

Rick and Lee were accelerating down the road. Lee was leaning against the window, with his flat cheek stamped against his enclosed fist, almost falling asleep. Rick was taking the wheel, never looking away from the long concrete path ahead of them, besieged by endless, green trees. The windshield had some grime dirtying it and the rearview had a pair of cracks. The sky had turned cloudier but the temperatures were still warm.

Inside the brownish car, Rick glanced at the police radio and had an idea. He gripped it with his right hand, his attention always directed to the road, and pressed the button. He approached the device to his mouth. "This here is Officer Rick Grimes." Lee jumped on his seat, surprised by his voice.

"What're you doing?" Lee inquired, staring at Rick, followed by a long yawn as he was awakened.

"I'm seeing if there's somebody out there." Rick informed, taking his thumb off the button.

"Really think there's someone listening?" Lee demanded his opinion, reclining on his seat comfortably.

"Dunno. But we can at least find some directions on where to go." Rick reassured, as he smashed the button again with his finger. Lee shrugged it off and went back to his mid-napping. "This is Rick Grimes from the Sheriff's Deputy, anybody copy?" A sizzle was heard as he removed his finger from the pressure plate. Silence. "We'll be approaching on Highway 85, Anybody hear my voice? Anybody hear me, please respond."

* * *

><p>Kenny kept gawking at his pickup's engine, trying to figure out what was wrong with it. Kenny was a dude who wore a red baseball cap, bore the legacy of the mullet and a furry mustache across his face. He tightened his grip around his monkey wrench in his fists. He had been at it for an hour, but he still couldn't get the damn engine to start.<p>

"Fuckin' hell." Kenny muttered, passing his hand drenched in oil through his hat, staining it a little. "Why won't you fuckin' work?"

"Honey, take a break, don't start to stress out." His wife Katjaa soothed him, by putting a hand on his shoulder. Katjaa was a woman with short, blond hair and she had bright, blue eyes. She wore brown pants and a t-shirt with flowers. "We don't need this fixed right away."

"I know, I know." Kenny mumbled as he wiped the sweat off his forehead with his arm. He tossed the wrench on the opened toolbox near his feet. He and his wife shared a quick kiss. "Go on and check on Duck."

Kenny swabbed his dirty hands with a rag. He turned around and saw his wife sitting next to their son Duck, who was distracting himself by drawing some weird figures with crayons. He gazed at their entire camp; in the middle being the main attraction. Dale's RV. Dale was the group's old story-teller, wearing a fisher hat and owl glasses he always stood on top of the RV with a sniper rifle and some binoculars, constantly surveying the area for walkers.

Suddenly, they began hearing some fizzles emitting from the radio that stood on a hollow-out tree stump. Everybody began turning their heads in amazement, before they heard a voice. "_An-ny-b-body res-spon-ds-_"

Amy immediately leaped out of the chair she was sitting in and sprinted towards the device. She dived onto her knees and gripped the radio, pressing the button to talk.

"Hello? Who is this?" The blonde girl spoke into the radio. Dale made his rifle clung onto his back and climbed down the RV, dashing towards the radio as fast as his feeble legs could take him.

"_C-can you h-ear m-me…_"

"You're coming through, over." Amy certified, stringing a straw of hair behind her ear. Kenny, seeing what was happening, ran towards the radio. In a few seconds, half the group had gathered. Dale, Kenny, Lilly and Larry. Larry was as old as Dale, the difference was that Larry had the worst temper available. And Lilly was his daughter, who fortunately seemed the only person who could calm him down. Mark and Doug emerged too. The latter was the geek of the group, knowing all kinds of knowledge about technology. Heck, he was the reason they had a functional radio. And finally, Mark used to work at a military base like Lilly, so he was useful when it came to guns and vehicles.

"_Any-one w-who can h-ear-r me, br-roadc-castin-g on emerg-g-ency c-hanne-l._" The voice came in stutters, as the group exchanged looks and stood like morons in amazement.

"We're just outside the city, hello can you hear me?" Amy apprised, before the searing sound vanished. "Dammit. He couldn't hear me, I couldn't warn him."

"Let me take a look at that." Doug intervened. He was mostly a quiet guy, but when it came to tech he was highly confident. He lowered his body and tinkered around with some of the buttons and knobs, but there was no result. "Fiddlesticks, I think we lost him for good." Doug stated whilst scratching his head and glaring at the group.

Lori, who had been taking care of laundry with her son Carl, was intrigued by the camp's talk so she stepped in.

"Son, you know best how to work with this thing." Dale told Shane, who approached the radio and kneeled by it.

"Hello, hello, the person who broadcasts still on the air?" Shane let go of the button, but there was only static. "This is Officer Shane Walsh, broadcasting to a person unknown, please respond." Silence. After a few seconds, it was deemed useless so Shane set the radio back on its place. "He's gone."

"Who the hell was that?" Kenny inquired with urge.

"We don't know. The guy just came outta nowhere." Amy declared as she got up and placed her hands on her hips.

"There are others, we aren't the only ones." Lori affirmed. "I've been saying for a week, we oughta put signs on up on 85 to warn people away from the city." Lori said with some frustration.

"And get our own people killed? We should stay right here where it's safe, we can't afford to go out there!" Larry shouted in retort, with an angry expression.

"Larry, calm down, please." Mark pleaded him.

"Yeah, dad. Stay calm. We don't have many more pills left." Lilly told him. Her simple pronunciation of those words instantly brought a more relaxed face to him.

"Lori's right. Folks don't know what they're getting into." Amy consented, glaring at the group.

"Hate to say it, but I agree with ol' Larry." Shane agreed as he got up and stuck his sheriff hat back on his head. "We don't have time."

"I think we need to make time." Lori contravened with an incredulous tone.

"Yeah, that uh…" Shane rambled as he rubbed his fingers through his five o'clock shadow. "That's somethin' we can't afford. We are survivin', day by day."

"And how do you propose to send?" Dale demanded over to Lori, opening his arms in disbelief.

"I'll go. Gimme a vehicle." Lori hastily said.

"Lori, that's not a good idea. You know that no one goes alone anywhere." Mark disapproved as he played with his hair.

Lori, seeing so many people were against her, let out a sigh before she walked away from everybody's sight. Eventually, the group began dispersing in different directions, off to do their activities. Carl, the small ten year old tried to follow his mom, but Shane stopped him. "Hey, hey, hey, c'mon buddy, take a sit. You're alright, go on, you're alright." Shane told him, as he was greeted with Carl's nod, as he spun around and went somewhere else, before Shane departed to follow Lori.

* * *

><p>Lee was roused from his sleep when the car's rocking around was coming to a halt. Lee freed his eyes from the sheets blanketing his eyes and yawned. Once he felt more awake, he saw the car fully stop in front of a short wooden fence, and beyond laid a hill with a country house built on top.<p>

"Why're we stopping?" Lee asked whilst he turned his head. Meanwhile, Rick switched off the ignition and ripped out the keys from the hole.

"Runnin' on fumes. We have to find gas or another vehicle. That house's our best bet." Rick elucidated in a simple way, pointing at the house in the hills. Lee replied to him with a nod and a positive noise.

Lee stretched out before he picked up the Glock from the dash. He still wasn't too sure if he was gonna be able to use it properly, but he was gonna try his best. Rick pulled down the sun visor and removed a photo that was attached to it between tons of shop receipts. Lee took a glance at the picture and saw Rick standing in the middle, donning a boring suit and a wide smile, with a woman and a small boy by his side; all of them with joyous expressions.

After Rick had inserted the item in his pocket, Lee drew his arm in a weird way toward the back seating and grabbed the duffel bag, gradually pulling it to his lap. The two men exited the car, shutting their doors with a loud noise. Rick dashed toward the back of the car before he opened the truck, and he picked up some siphoning gear.

"Let's go." Rick uttered, as the duo, side by side, began marching through the road.

They were walking through the concrete road, two eyes and face forward. It was a creepy feeling that reached Lee's brain, but it was hard to believe that the world was so quiet and dead now. The green trees and tall grass danced as the wind balanced them, and not a single sound was heard. Unlike things used to be in the quotidian life, with cars, pollution, work, stress…it was actually peaceful.

Rick vaulted over the fence skillfully, examining his surroundings to prevent being ambushed by walkers. Lee essayed to bounce over the obstacle, but almost hit the deck when the weight of the guns tugging him down. He almost fell on his knees as the pain in his stomach insisted, but he stayed firm. After a few pants, he was good to go, and the two men began hiking up the hill.

The house wasn't something special. It was the usual one-story household, having a small porch up front and a tiny ceiling, with a chimney sprouting out of it. The outside walls were painted in a bleak white, and there didn't seem to be signs of human activity.

"Hello? Anybody?" Lee inquired out loud, but got no response. "Mind if we borrow some gas?"

"I don't think there's anyone around these parts." Rick commented as they climbed up the front porch. The two windowsills were decorated with herbs and there was a table with a few chairs by it; where the owners probably spent time drinking lemonade while enjoying the view.

Rick twisted the doorknob, and surprisingly it opened. They both paced inside, and noticed how inside it looked like a tornado ran through. The kitchen's cabinets had all been uncovered and looted, some furniture was torn upside down and some of the family pictures' frames were broken. But the first thing they noticed was the smell.

"Ah, Jesus." Lee spat as he pressured his palm against his nose.

"Crap." Rick spattered as he imitated Lee, turning his face away for a brief second before he stared back again towards the inside of the house.

They slowly walked around in the hallway for a bit, until they turned in the living room. Big mistake. They came across a dead body sitting on the couch, with a shotgun in his hands. He had formerly been a farmer; it was visible due to the overalls; and half his skull was splattered in the walls. Another body laid on the ground; this one being of a woman; her face was also dissolved into the floor in a mix of blood and bone. An entire ocean of flies was hovering above the cadavers. Plus, they were terrified when they spotted the message 'God Forgive Us' written with blood on the wall.

They almost ran out of the house, in order to avoid that image of slaughter. Once on the exterior, Lee was forced to bend and he barfed the little he had on his stomach on the porch. He gripped onto the handrail so he wouldn't collapse, and when he spewed everything he stood straight, wiping his mouth and panting heavily. He gazed down and saw a puddle of yellowish, disgusting matter.

"It's…it's okay…" Rick said as he patted Lee on the back. "Let's just check out back."

"Yeah…let's go." Lee assented.

They climbed down the stairs and began walking around the house. It wasn't too large, so it wouldn't take them too much time. "You sure you okay?" Rick quizzed.

"I'm fine, don't worry." Lee asserted with a nod.

When they had stepped into the backyard of the house, Lee's dizziness and nausea had dissipated. They saw a wine-colored station wagon parked near the back door, and a reddish barn a bit further away. Beyond that, it was endless meadows.

"Looks like it's our lucky day." Rick stated as he sprinted towards the car. He clicked the handle of the driver's side and installed himself in the driver's seat, arching below the steering wheel.

"Hey, Rick. I'm gonna take a look at that barn." Lee affirmed, keeping his eyes on the building.

"Okay, but careful with the walkers." Rick grunted as he played around with some wires that were connected to the engine.

Lee walked in a fast pace towards the barn. Eventually, he noted that the red color came from the rust accumulated in the metal infrastructure holding the wooden walls up. He reached his palm towards the two handles and pulled the doors in his direction, almost hacking the doors of their hinges.

The inside of the barn was actually kept clean. The hay was stacked in small parallelepipeds, and a few other useful tools were organized in the corner; such as a sickle, a shovel and a pitchfork. But he was surprised with what he spotted in the stables. Two horses, both of them of brownish and white fur, stared at the human with empty eyes and didn't show a care for what was happening in the world.

"Well I'll be damned." Lee muttered, as he began strolling towards the two animals. He tried not to do any sudden moves so he wouldn't upset the creatures. He distinguished a hatchet with its blade dug inside a wooden table. "I guess I'll take this." He said into the air as he unburied the hatchet, and then attached it to his belt. "Hi there, girls. They forgot about you in here?" Lee asked one of the animals as he petted its muzzle. It retracted its head for a while, but then in a single second he seemed to gain complete trust in him. "I sure could use your help. I'm trying to get to Atlanta to find my wife Deborah. I also have a friend Rick. He's a cool guy, sheriff's deputy, he's heading there too. Searching his wife Lori and his son Carl."

"Goddamn station wagon is a bust." Rick hissed as he appeared out of nowhere into the barn. He frowned his eyebrows in amazement and dropped his jaw, seeing the treasure they had found. "Well, shit…feel like going for a ride?"

"You know how to horse-ride?" Lee interrogated as he spun around. "Spent a lotta days patrollin' the streets on horseback?"

"I did, in my rookie days." Rick explained, as he picked up a saddle that was butting against the wall. "And now these girls are gonna take us to Atlanta."

**A/N: So Rick and Lee have found a means of transport to get to Atlanta, whilst the Motel and Atlanta groups are trying to survive out on the wilderness. What will happen next? Thanks for reading the chapter, hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you next time!**


	5. Chapter 5 - The City Has Fallen

**The Walking Dead: A New Day Gone Bye**

**Chapter 5 – The City Has Fallen**

Rick opened the small gate on the stables. Lee stepped aside and saw as Rick slowly backed away towards the door, luring the two horses out of their pen. At first they were confused, but after a while they were on track and they were following Rick obediently, as he waved his fingers and whistle lowly. Lee stood there, staring at Rick's maneuvers like he was viewing a sports match from the sidelines with his arms folded.

"So, uh…how do you ride this thing?" Lee asked. Rick had already strapped a saddle onto one of the horses, as he caressed the horse's face.

"It's easy. Grab one of them saddles, string it up and jump on." Rick elaborated, making it seem simple.

Lee walked inside the barn again and picked up another saddle, hidden among the cubes of hay. He turned around and marched back to his horse, which seemed oblivious to everything happening around him. He tiptoed to try to be as tall as the horse and then tossed the saddle over his back. The animal didn't complain, and better didn't smash Lee's ribs in with its massive hoofs.

Rick gripped the creature's back and then leaped in the air majestically, passing a leg over with ease. "C'mon, your turn. Just don't be nervous." Rick advised, with the cord between his hands already. He was ready to ride.

Lee gulped, before he wrapped his fingers on the beast's spine. He jumped and tried to bend over, but the only result was him falling over on the other side. He screeched as his body clashed against the grass. The horse lifted its paws for a few seconds and produced a sound like the one of a shudder. "Hey! You okay?" Rick inquired with a chuckle.

"Yeah…just need to get the hang of it." Lee admitted as he got up, being dirty with some dirt that he swooped away. He spun around and breathed heavily, as he did the same drill. He dived in the air and passed a leg over it, now successfully installing himself in the saddle.

"All ready?" Rick said, waving the ropes a little.

Lee messed around with the cords attached to the horses' muzzles. "How do you get it to gallop?"

"Like this. Yagh!" Rick screamed as he pulled the ropes high up and tapped the animal's stomach with his feet. The horse howled and tilted backwards, before he began speeding down the hill at a tremendous hill. The difference was that Rick wasn't scared.

"Jesus Christ. Yagh…" Lee said without enthusiasm, as he hit the horse's stomach for it to move. But it remained stoical. "YAGH!" He yelled now louder and pretty much kicked the sides of the animal. It inclined backwards that Lee thought he was going to fall, but then the horse stood in his normal posture and began sprinting down the hill. Lee was having some trouble keeping up with its speed, but he latched onto the ropes and didn't dare to let go. The wind was striking his face like a cooling breeze and the trees around him were nothing but blurs.

But then he saw the wooden fence between them and the road. "Oh shit, stop! Horsey, stop!" He hollered, but the animal invested.

Lee's only instinct was to close his eyes and constrain his muscles. But eventually he felt the horse flying in the air. He cracked one eye open and saw that the horse had leaped over the obstacle, and was now galloping at a normal speed.

Rick appeared by his side, as the duo of men rode down the road in sync. Lee was panting and drops of sweat were sliding down his face. "Enjoy your first ride?" Rick smirked.

"No. Let's just get to Atlanta." He groaned impatiently. That had been way too much adrenaline for him to handle.

* * *

><p>Lee had now gotten the hang of horse-riding, at least for the time being in which all they had to do was walk in a straight line towards Atlanta. Rick was beside him, often whipping his hand through his sheriff hat and with a small smile up his face. One thing Lee knew for sure; it was the last damned time he was sitting on horseback. They had already spanned miles for all they knew, and the outlines of Atlanta's skyscrapers were visible in the horizon. And the closer they got to the city, the bigger was their enthusiasm.<p>

"There it is. Atlanta" Rick said as their horses stepped inside an area of the highway that was littered with cars everywhere. All of them with windows broken, doors flung open and some with flat tires or even missing parts. Posters and leaflets flew in the window.

"Geez…" Lee murmured, looking over his shoulder the debris laying on the road. Thankfully, there were opening large enough to fit the animals.

Lee gazed at the streets that approached them. It felt weird seeing some of those places he knew, bars, hotels, restaurants…once so lively now so dead and bleak.

When they had entered the first neighborhood of Atlanta, Lee started noticing some walkers. Not a lot, maybe five, some lingering in the alleys, other staring at the ground until they noticed the human presence.

"Rick, walkers." Lee alerted in a whisper.

"Don't worry. They won't be able to catch up to us." Rick asserted, looking around to make sure there weren't anymore zombies.

But when the horses stepped into the next street, they were surprised by a gigantic herd of walkers. All of them had rotten flesh, milky eyes and roamed around with dragged and disastrous pacing. Their heads twitched with haste as they noticed the fresh meal brought to them.

"Oh shit, what do we do?" Lee demanded, as he turned his head around and saw that more zombies were marching towards them from behind.

"We're cornered!" Rick stated, as the horse nervously stood still, unsure on what to do. "Shit, shit, shit , shit!"

Lee's horse suddenly raised his frontal paws in the air, erecting in only his two remaining legs. Lee did his best to cling onto something, scratching around the animal's neck, but he began sliding down until gravity pulled him down. He began falling towards the ground, and the sudden and unexpected fall caused him to fall on his back, his nape hitting the floor.

His surroundings became stains of color and his hearing felt suppressed; his bones yelping in pain. He could listen to the repetitive groans emitting from the mouths of the dead and their dawdling shuffle. "Lee!" He heard Rick shout. He could hear several gun shots, along with the horse yelling and the moaning intensified. Lee knew one thing for sure; he wasn't gonna get eaten today.

He blinked multiple times before the world became lucid to him once more. He looked to his side and noted a walker strolling towards him, battering its jaws at the sight of the delish laying on the floor. Its head was deprived of any hair and his eyes were as grey as Pluton. Lee used his elbow to elevate his torso a bit, and with his right hand reached for the hatchet. With hurry, he took out the weapon, and just as the walker leaped on top of Lee, he swung the hatchet in the air, sending a devastating blow to its cranium.

He then saw a silhouette approaching him. At first he thought it was a lurker, so he readied the weapon, but then recognized the sheriff hat and badge. Rick was lending his hand to Lee. "I ain't letting someone get eaten today." He reassured, as Lee gripped his hand and surged in the air. "Especially a good friend."

Lee nodded, as he holstered his hatchet and removed his Glock 22 tight in his hand. The zombies were now dangerously close, and they had to escape now. Lee instantly shifted his attention away when he saw the walkers devouring the two horses. There were intestines everywhere, especially within the undead's mouths, and they didn't mind the blood splattering on their face.

Rick soared his arm and shot the nearest walker, sending its brains all over the air as its body slumped on the ground. The zombies all had variety; some with short hair, Mohawks, long hair, suits, punk clothes, sneakers, bare feet, people like them. But now it was time for Lee to try target practice.

He heightened his hands, clutching onto the gun with the index finger hovering near the trigger. He took aim through the notch at the nearest zombie; a bald dude with a Californian shirt. Closing one eye, he had no mercy and fired a bullet. The recoil was strong that the weapon almost struck his face and his ears were deafened. However, once he focused on the walker again he saw that the bullet had gone through its neck, but somehow it was still alive.

"Into the alley!" Rick hollered, latching Lee's shirt and tugging him all the way into an alleyway.

Inside the small passage, there were no walkers. It was a dark location, containing only a few dumpsters and trash cans.

"What the…!" Lee screamed when he felt hands wrapping around him. He shook his body away and turned around; his gun ready to shoot.

"Whoa, whoa, not dead!" The man standing in front of Lee said with his arms in the air. Lee frowned his eyebrows and realized his mistake, as he lowered the gun. Rick halted in his tracks, seeing that it had been a person grabbing Lee.

The guy appeared to be of Asian-American ethnicity. He wore a cap and had sweaty black hair. He bore a t-shirt along with jeans, and a backpack dangled around his shoulders.

"Who are you?" Rick enquired as he approached the Asian dude. Acknowledging they were friendly, the guy set down his hands.

"I'm Glenn and I can get you out of here." He asserted as he looked around to verify that walkers hadn't followed them. "Follow me, and stop using those guns!"

Glenn began sprinting down the alley way with speed. Lee and Rick gazed at each other, wondering if they should follow him, but when they glanced behind them they spotted a wave of walkers bursting inside the alley. Going with Glenn was preferable…

Glenn stopped beside a ladder, which he leaped onto to and started climbing in a furious momentum. Rick let Lee go first, so the urban man followed Glenn right on his tail, the metal of the ladder echoing each time they laid a foot on it.

Lee jumped onto the roof, panting heavily while he leaned on his knees. Never had he seen such a large horde; and he came close to death that very day. That wasn't something he was gonna get by so quickly.

"Who the hell are you?" Glenn questioned, as Rick landed on the rooftop, sweating and essaying to control his breathing. Below that building they stood on, hundreds of walkers, releasing an unbearable stench were hoisting their claws in the air. They were too stupid to know that they weren't gonna manage to reach the humans.

"I'm Rick, and this is Lee." Rick presented the duo, gesturing at Lee who was recomposing himself.

"You guys brought the whole city on us with all that gunfire." Glenn observed, peaking over the edge at the horde. "We gotta hurry, come with me."

"Wait, where are we going?" Lee asked between breaths.

"We have a camp from outside Atlanta. But me along with some other guys are holing up in a pharmacy." Glenn informed. He raced until he reached the border of the edifice, and then he majestically jumped in the air, light as a feather, before he arrived at the other side, making gravel fly in the air as his feet made friction with the floor.

"No! No freaking way." Lee said out loud, drawing a cross in the air with the tip of his fingers.

"You guys are gonna have to!" Glenn voiced, making a shell with his hands around his mouth so he could heard all the way across. "All those buildings are filled with zombies, and there will be walkers waiting for us at the bottom of that one. There's no way out!"

"Goddamn it." Lee muttered, as he took a few steps back and prepared for the jump.

He released a breath as he began crushing the floor each second with his feet. He ran up to the edge before his body glided in the air. For a split second he spotted a blur of the undead mob scrubbing their nails against the buildings' walls, before he fell on his knees on the other side.

"See? Wasn't hard. Now you sheriff!" Glenn instructed, helping Lee getting up.

"I'm coming!" Rick adverted, as he walked backwards to get balance. He followed in Lee's footsteps as he dashed across the ground, and the air automatically exited his lungs when he flew in the atmosphere, not falling off by a few inches.

"Okay, now let's go you dumbasses!" Glenn commanded, before he walked up to a latch on the same building. He bowed down and opened it, as he stepped inside.


	6. Chapter 6 - Breaking The Bad

**The Walking Dead: A New Day Gone Bye**

**Chapter 6 – Breaking The Bad**

** "****All war is a symptom of man's failure as a thinking animal." – Walter.**

**There you go, there's a totally random quote. Just a side note, the Andrea appearing in this will be the Andrea from the comics. Now I hope you enjoy the chapter! **

Rick and Lee had followed Glenn down the ladder that was posited inside the latch, and after some more physical exercise they arrived at an alleyway that led to Everett's Prescriptions. Lee was quite shocked, but felt fuzzy and uncomfortable inside. Because his parents would either be inside; or they would be worse.

Inside the passage, a handful of walkers were lurking around. The trio halted at the sight of them, but then Glenn pulled out a walkie-talkie. "We have a couple a' geeks in the alley!" He spoke in a rush to the radio, before he cut communication.

They stood there for a few seconds, regarding the walkers static as statues, before two people erupted out of the backdoor of Everett's Prescriptions. They both wore weird garments protecting all of their body, like they were samurais, before they began clubbing the two undead zombies with dragged movements; using aluminum bats. The walkers fell as soon they were beaten down, and even when they were down they kept jerking around, trying to escape.

Glenn did a finger motion, and Rick and Lee followed him as Glenn dashed toward the backdoor. They leaped between the two samurai dudes and into the pharmacy. "Go, let's go!" One of the masked guys said as they both retreated inside.

* * *

><p>Rick, Lee and Glenn burst into the drug store, and Lee identified them as in being in his parents' office. There was a desk in the corner, with a remote and a TV that wasn't working strapped onto the ceiling. To his right, there was the door leading to the pharmacy; but if he remembered correctly his parents always kept it tight shut. But he was terrified when he spotted two mattresses in the opposite wall, splattered with blood.<p>

The two samurais shut the door, before they removed their masks and revealing their appearance. One of them was a buff, African-American guy, with an impeccable shaved head and a thin moustache adorning his upper lip. The other seemed to be of Hispanic-American nationality. He too was a bit bulky on the muscles, and had curly hair along with some cropped stubble.

"Jesus, Glenn, what happened out there?" A woman with short, brown hair and wearing a purple bubble jacket with a white shirt underneath inquired with concern. "And mind presenting us your new friends?"

"Sorry, Carley, but these guys were in trouble back there." Glenn explained, still panting and sweating from their adventure back there, whilst the Hispanic man and the African-American man were stripping off their armor. "This here's Rick, a cop, and that's Lee."

"Hi." Lee awkwardly greeted, with a hand gesture. Beside Glenn and those three other people, there were two more individuals in that room. One of them was an African-American woman with a short afro, and the other was a young lady with bright, blonde hair tied in a ponytail.

"Look, I'm Andrea." The blonde presented herself, putting a hand in her chest. She pointed her finger at the African-American man and the Hispanic one. "That's Theodore, but you can call him T-Dog. And that's Morales. And that's Jacqui." She concluded, beaming her finger at the afro woman. "But now we got a problem 'cause of you two."

"Whole city's on our ass, attracted by the shots." T-Dog elaborated, now clear of the armor.

"And we're stuck in this pharmacy, no way out." Morales added.

"We're sorry, but it was a life or death situation." Rick apologized sincerely.

"Yeah, we're sorry." Lee concurred, scratching the back of his head.

"I'll teach you guys a few things." Morales talked in a harsher tone, as he led everybody into the main room of the drugstore. "We're in here to scavenge for supplies. You know what the key to scavenging is? Surviving! Know what the key to surviving is? Sneaking in and out, tiptoeing, not shooting up the streets like it's O.K. Corral!"

They stormed inside the main room. In a corner was the counter to pay off your buys, along with a smoothie machine to lure people into drinking it. Shelves loitered around every corner, butted up against the walls. Most of them were free of their contents, but the ones who didn't had various products scrambled around in them.

Through the windows, a vast horde could be seen squeezing their putrid faces against the glass, desiring to get inside and feast on the living. They stained it with blood, muck and dead skin, making it near impossible to see through. "Get the picture now?" Morales asked. Lee and Rick just stayed frozen in place, gazing at the zombies investing.

"They heard you poppin' off rounds everywhere." T-Dog stated the obvious.

"Hey, T-Dog, try the C.B., try to contact the others." Morales instructed, jabbing his fingers at a portable radio Theodore was clutching between his hands.

"You guys got a group or something?" Lee enquired, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, outside Atlanta. We have a lotta people there." Morales informed, staring at T-Dog tinkering with the C.B.

"What about the refugee center?" Rick demanded, peaking at his feet.

"Refugee center? Yeah, they've got biscuits in the oven waitin' for us." Jacqui sarcastically said.

"Got no signal. Maybe the roof." T-Dog articulated, his eyes rolling back and forth in his cranium.

Suddenly, they heard a deafening gunshot coming from above. Everybody twitched their necks and glanced at the ceiling, but that was the only thing they saw.

"Oh no. Is that Dixon?" Morales proposed.

"That fuckin' asshole, we gotta stop him." Carley voiced with a determined tone.

"Who's Dixon?!" Lee interrogated, feeling a bit nervous about the herd and the gunfire.

"Just an idiot we're saddled with. Now let's go!" Andrea explained in the simplest way, as the gang began thundering through the shop to go stop Dixon.

* * *

><p>The group barged through the rooftop door. After the first shots were heard, Lee and Rick were led through a hellish and infinite stairwell that had reaped some of their stamina. But they finally arrived at the roof.<p>

There, they saw a man standing on the border of the roof, not afraid of falling down. He bore a leather vest with jeans, boots and nothing else. He wielded a sniper rifle, and he carelessly looked down the scope and was firing rounds at the incoming mob.

Morales was the first to step up, sprinting across the roof as quick as a gazelle. "Hey, Dixon, you crazy?!" Morales shouted. Dixon laughed at him, his arms becoming weaker, before he elevated his hands once more and fired again.

Merle Dixon grinned as the group was gathering close to him. Merle spun around and waved the sniper rifle in the air with a single hand, like he was painting a canvas. "Hey, y'all be more polite to a man with a gun!" Merle yelled with a smile with a redneck accent, before he graciously dived onto the roof with both his feet. "Only common sense." He smirked again as he cocked the bolt of his rifle.

"Man, you wastin' bullets we don't even got!" T-Dog reprehended with sputters, as he walked closer to Merle. "And you bringin' more of 'em down on our ass, man just chill!"

Morales paced beside T-Dog. "Bad enough I got this taco bender on my ass all day," Merle hissed with apparent racism, as the rifle passed from one palm to the other. "Now I'm gonna take orders from you?! I don't think so, bro, that'll be the day."

"'That'll be the day?'." T-Dog quoted, flapping his fingers in front of his chest. "Man, you got somethin' t' say t' me?!"

"Hey, guys, calm down." Lee decided to intervene, twirling his hands between the two men. "This is just gonna attract more walkers on top of us."

Merle giggled out so loud that it could be heard through the entire block. "Well, looks like Mr. Yo has brought one of his 'homies'. Whatcha gonna do?" Merle spoke with a serious tone, facing Lee. "Grab Spear-Chucker and Chinese Kid over there and beat ma ass? I don't think so."

"T-Dog, Lee, it's just not worth it!" Morales halted the discussion, leaving a suppressing silence pairing in the air. "Now Merle, we got enough problems, so just relax, okay?!"

"You wanna know the day?" Merle quizzed, looking at T-Dog past Lee who was still standing between them. "I'll tell you the day, Mr. Yo!" He mocked, acting like a rapper. "It's the day I take orders from a nigga."

"Motherfucker!" T-Dog spat as he tossed his arm back, and threw it against Merle's face.

Merle squatted a few inches down, and it was enough to dodge Theodore's punch. He then rose up back again, and kicked Lee right in the ribs to get him out of the way. Lee bent over with the pain, especially his wound that was aching violently again, and was forced to slump against a thick pipe stretching throughout the rooftop.

Seeing that the coast was now clear, he aroused his arms and pummeled T-Dog in the face with the stock of his rifle. Theodore became dazzled, and was forced to collapse heavily on the ground with a chop in his nose. The sky was blue, but when T-Dog felled himself on the floor a thunder was heard.

Screams were heard amid the several group members, but Rick tried to grip Merle. However all he received was a punch to the face, which sent him flying over the large pipe.

Merle was already preparing to launch a kick to the ribs of T-Dog, who was dwindled across the floor, but then Lee got up and tackled him, ramming both of them on the floor. His stomach was still hollering in pain, but he wasn't gonna let him beat Theodore to death. Rick, that was now recovering from the blow, pulled out his handcuffs and locked one of the rings around Merle's wrist, and then the other to the pipe.

"What, the…" Merle muttered in a hoarse voice, too perplexed to react. "I ain't lettin' myself get defeated by a nigger." Lee got upright. Merle was already starting to get up, but then noticed the cuffs, chaining him to the pipe and preventing him from moving. "Who the hell are you?!"

"I'm Officer Friendly." Rick spewed right on Merle's face. He noted a handgun hidden on his belt, so he pulled it out, switched the safety on and stored it away. Jacqui and Morales helped T-Dog sit against the small border of the roof. Lee stared at Rick giving his speech with his arms folded. "Listen here, Merle, things are different now. There are no niggas anymore. No dumb-as-shit, inbred white trash fools either." Merle glared at Rick with a face that showed he didn't give a damn, before he looked away. "There's dark meat and white meat. Us and the dead. We survive by pulling together, not apart."

"Screw you man." Merle insulted, with a careless and smug face.

"I see you make a habit of missin' the point." Rick told him proudly.

"Yeah? Well then screw you twice." He said again, with his neutral expression.

Rick sighed in anger and cocked Merle's handgun, before he rubbed it against his temple. Merle drifted his head a bit. "Oughta be polite to a man with a gun. Only common sense."

"You wouldn't. You're a cop." Merle dissed with a low tone.

"All I am anymore is a man looking for his wife and son." Rick asserted, giving Merle one of his usual glances, in which his eyes roll up so much his pupils almost enter inside his cranium. "Anyone who gets in the way of that is gonna lose. I'll give you a moment to think about that."

"What're you gonna do? Arrest me?" Merle dared him. Rick tapped around his pockets until he felt an item inside. He removed it and identified it as a bag of cocaine. Rick got up, walked up to the edge and heaved it down the building. "Hey man, what're you doing?! That was my stuff!" He complained, now kicking and moving quickly in his restraints. "Hey! If I get loose you better pray!"

Lee sighed heavily, as Rick bent over the rail enclosing the rooftop and Morales followed him. "That was, a…brave move coming from you." Carley complimented, approaching Lee.

"I wasn't gonna let that asshole beat the shit out of T-Dog." Lee nodded, not knowing what else to say.

"What happened down there? You seemed kinda shocked when you came in here." Carley questioned, placing a fist in her hip.

"Down there…it was…my parents' store." Lee admitted, frowning and gazing at the ground. "I was hoping to find them."

"I'm, uh…sorry. We had to drag a…couple of old people that were inside the office when we got here." Carley notified, stamping a shocked expression across Lee. "Are you…okay?"

"Yeah, I'm…fine. All things considered." Lee told her, brushing his chin with his fingers.

"I was gonna ask for your help, if you're up for it." Carley declared, making Lee glance at her. "We need to get inside the pharmacy to get some pills."

"Yeah, I can help you. Let's go." Lee reassured. Carley nodded, before she and Lee strolled towards the rooftop door.

* * *

><p>Carley and Lee entered the pharmacy and neared themselves of the pharmacy door. Carley wrapped her fingers around the handle and revolved it, but nothing happened. "It's locked." Carley stated, as she turned her head and peered at Lee. "You wouldn't happen to have the keys, would you?"<p>

"Sorry, no." Lee replied, shaking his head. "Why do you guys need pills?" He asked, wiggling his hand.

"There's this guy in our camp, Larry. He's old and has a heart disease." Carley elucidated, crossing her arms and staring at the pharmacy door. "He's a pain in the ass, but his daughter Lilly asked us to get some for him. He needs nitroglycerin pills."

"How 'bout we shoot the lock?" Lee proposed, fiddling his eyebrows.

"I don't wanna risk attracting more attention to us." Carley contradicted. They already had enough walkers battering at their windows.

"Wait…that couple you mentioned…where did you put them?"

"In the alley. Why?" Carley curiously inquired.

"Just follow me. Cover my back and I'll do the rest." Lee kept his plan shrouded in mystery.

* * *

><p>Lee and Carley stepped outside into the alleyway, in which T-Dog and Morales had spanked those two zombies until they were dead. Right now it was clear, but if they made noise that could change at any second. "They're over there, by the dumpster." Carley directed to the large trash containers. By its side, the cadavers of a man and a woman were deposited. "I apologize by the way we got rid of the corpses. We didn't know you would…appear."<p>

"It's okay." Lee said in a serene tone. "You wanted to be safe. Couldn't have known they were my parents."

Lee paced towards the dumpster, his breathing increasing as he went along. Every step he took, he smelled that rotten odor that infiltrated his nostrils. It was scary to imagine those were his parents, now turned into nothing but decaying corpses. But they were now lying beside Lee's.

Lee kneeled near the two corpses of his parents. He felt a tear leaking down his cheek, but he wiped it away quickly. He rummaged through his father's pockets until he found a metal object. He took it out, and even though it was the keys to the pharmacy, a smile didn't sprout in his face. How could he smile when he was looking at the inanimate bodies of his parents?

"Love you, dad and mom." He confessed to them, before he stood up. He spun around and began walking towards the door; not looking back.

**A/N: I've been waiting FOREVER to write this chapter, because who the hell doesn't love the Dixon brothers? Also, I've been planning out the storyline, and by the looks of it this story is bound to very long, so I hope you're in for the long haul. Hope you enjoyed and I'll see y'all!**


	7. Chapter 7 - Storm's A Brewin'

**The Walking Dead: A New Day Gone Bye**

**Chapter 7 – Storm's A Brewin'**

**A/N: So here's the new chapter! Sorry it took a while, but lately I just kinda lost inspiration to write, and I thought it was best to take a break. But now I feel really inspired and ready to push on with the fanfic. Enjoy!**

Lee took a final twist on the key and the door opened. Thankfully, the power was off meaning that the alarm wouldn't go off. But the walkers still persisted outside. Lee pushed the door opened, and the duo peaked inside. The obscure room exhibited multiple shelves, all of them replenished with cylindrical boxes with pills. Lee and Carley stepped inside and began examining the boxes, picking them up and reading the labels with the dim light.

"It's nitroglycerin, ain't it?" Lee asked again, to be sure, just as he was investigating a pair of pill trays.

"Yeah, that's it." Carley grunted, trying to tiptoe to grab a crate of drugs she spotted on top of the shelf. She gripped it and then lowered the crate onto the floor. She then kneeled and scoured through the tablets. "Since we're here, grab everything you can carry."

Lee responded with a noise, as he stuffed his pockets with pills. He couldn't know what they were, due to their complicated names and the fact he didn't have medical expertise. "Mind me asking…what did you do before all of this started?"

"I was a reporter for WBEA." Carley confessed, making Lee let out a surprised sound.

"Does that mean you were famous all over the news channels?" Lee inquired with a chuckle.

"Not really." Carley said, as she silently triumphed when she picked up some nitroglycerin medicaments. "I never got any autograph requests if that's what's you're hinting at. The pay wasn't too good either. Buncha work hours. Rarely got a day off or even some time to myself. What about you?" She reciprocated, glancing at Lee.

"History teacher." Lee confided, concentrating at ransacking the pills previously owned by his parents. "Trying to find my wife Deborah."

"Well, I'm sure you'll find her eventually." Carley reassured with a firm tone. "I think we got all we need. Let's go back up."

"Yeah, my pockets are full anyway." Lee conceded, his pockets burping with pill boxes.

"Let's go then." Carley disclosed, as the man and woman left the pharmacy and headed towards the stairwell.

* * *

><p>Lee and Carley climbed up the stairs and entered the rooftop. Rick, Morales, T-Dog, Jacqui and Andrea were leaned on the rails, gazing at the threat below them. Merle was still cuffed to the tube, his skin red as wine and he often mumbled some non-sense. The duo walked and joined the group.<p>

The sight below them was creepy. Walkers were roaming around in the street, bumping into phone cabinets and flag poles. From the height they were in, their bodies were nothing but black dots moving on ground level.

"My God, it's like Times Square down there." Andrea remarked, gawking at the imminent threat.

"Hey guys. We found some nitroglycerin for Larry, and some other medical supplies." Carley informed, as she and Lee tilted onto the rail beside the group. T-Dog was sitting against the wall, endlessly toying with the C.B.

"Good work, perhaps he won't be such a pain in the neck now." Jacqui praised, giving them a quick look before glaring down again.

"How's that signal?" Morales asked over to T-Dog.

"Like Dixon's brain. Weak." T-Dog teased with a grin. All we received was Merle giving him an eyeful and flipping him off with his free hand.

"Keep trying." Morales insisted, not losing moral.

"I'm not sure if there's anything they can do." Jacqui acknowledged in a pessimist tone.

"We only got some people outside the city." Morales told Rick with a nod. "There is no refugee center. That's a pipe dream."

"Shit…" Lee muttered, lowering his head and passing a hand through his neck. After all the shit they had been through to get there, and now he discovered it wasn't true. He felt stupid; almost dying among a horde to chase a hallucination.

"Then she's right, we're on our own." Rick said with no enthusiasm. "It's up to us to find a way out."

"Good luck with that." Merle intervened, always cuffed to the pipe. "These streets ain't safe in this part of town from what I hear." Merle turned his head to Andrea, who was on her knees digging through a bag. "Ain't that right, sugar-tits?"

"Pfft." Andrea hissed, shaking her head. The rest of the group returned to their task of surveying the road for another exit.

"Hey, honeybunch. Whatcha say ya get me out of this cuffs," Merle advocated, jabbing his hand towards the metal circlets around his hand. "We go off somewhere and bump some uglies. Gonna die anyway."

"I'd rather." Andrea reciprocated, removing something from the bag and standing up.

"Rub-muncher." Merle slandered with a face showing he was not surprised. "Figured as much. The streets ain't safe."

"Now that's an understatement." Morales said. The group kept ogling continually the miniature figures of walkers trekking around below.

"What about under the streets? Sewers?" Lee proposed, rubbing his chin.

"Oh man." Morales murmured, realizing how genius Lee was. He turned over to Glenn, who was sitting on the stairs and coquetting with yet another radio. "Hey Glenn." The Asian man instantly rose his head at the mention of his name. "Check the alley. See any manholes?"

Glenn leaped onto his feet, before he spiraled around and sprinted across the rooftop. The gang viewed in hype, anxious to hear his response. Glenn bent over the edge to look at the road, before he turned round again and walked in a fast pace towards them. "No. Must be out on the street where all the geeks are."

"Well, we're screwed then, right?" Carley inquired in a pessimist tone.

"Maybe not." Jacqui interceded, her voice enthusiastic like a scientist that had unraveled the discovery of the century. "Old buildings like this built in the late 20's…big structures often had drainage tunnels into the sewers in case of flooding, down in the sub-basements."

"How do you know that?" Glenn asked curiously.

"It's my job. Was." Jacqui explained, eyeing each of her friends. "I worked in the city zoning office."

Rick turned around as the group remained silent, considering the option.

* * *

><p>The sub-basements were a dark place; their creepiness being enhanced by the dim light, rusty pipes and creaking sound echoing through the walls. Lee, Rick, Andrea, Morales, Carley, Jacqui and Glenn had climbed down the thousand steps towards the drainage sewer systems, and they were all equipped with flashlights; illuminating the blackness. T-Dog had stayed on the roof, surveilling Merle and trying to contact the group.<p>

"This is it?" Morales quizzed as they arrived at their destination. It was a small room, with a squared hole in the floor with a tiny fence surrounding it and a ladder constructed into the wall. The group leaned on the railing and gazed below them, at the smelly, dirty and perilous shaft as they emitted the light towards it. "You sure?"

"I scoped this place out real good. It's the only thing in the building that goes down." Glenn explained. His voice was accompanied by the resounding noise of dripping water. "Never went down into it. Who'd want to right?"

Glenn raised his head, only to find out that everyone's heads were turning toward him. Glenn's lips constrained, recognizing that he was the one who was gonna have to go down there. "Oh. Great." He sarcastically sputtered.

"We'll cover your back, man." Morales asserted.

"No. You won't. Look guys, until now I always came in here by myself, take a few things, in and out, easy. First time I bring a group, everything goes to hell. No offense." Glenn elucidated, as the group attentively listened. "If you want me to go down this gnarly hole, fine. But we have to do it my way." Rick nodded, so as did the rest of the group. "It's tight down there. If I run into something and have to get out quick, I don't want you all jammed up behind me getting me killed. I'll take one of you." Rick immediately came forward, but Glenn stopped him. "Not you either. You've got Merle's gun and I've seen you shoot. I'd feel better if you were on that drug store, covering our asses." He then pointed his finger at Andrea, Carley and Lee. "And you all got guns so go with him. Morales comes with me, Jacqui stays here. If something happens, holler, and get us out in a hurry."

"Okay." Jacqui acknowledged, responding with a nod.

"Okay, everybody knows their jobs." Rick spoke up, patting Glenn's shoulder.

"Let's get started. Those walkers can burst in at any minute now." Lee encouraged.

Glenn wrapped his lips around his flashlight, before he gripped the ladder and began descending into the sewers. The group made space for Morales to pass through, and he too chewed on the flashlight as he followed Glenn into the drainage tunnels.

* * *

><p>Back on the rooftop, having rescue coming was being deemed useless. T-Dog was slumped against the border, in the shadow, while Merle was always attached to the pipe, crouching and burning under the smoking sun. Once in a while, a thunder would be heard. A storm's a brewing.<p>

"Is there anybody out there?" T-Dog talked to the walkie-talkie. The same question, the same gesture on pressing the button then letting go. "I'm hoping to hear somebody's voice 'cause I'm damn sick tired of hearing mine."

"Well that makes two of us. Why don't you turn that crap off?" Merle suggested with his hoarse voice. "You givin' me a headache boy."

"Why don't you pull your head out of your ass? Maybe the headache will go away." T-Dog mocked, but Merle just chuckled. "Try some positivity for a change. Damn."

"I tell you what. You get me outta these cuffs…and I'll be all Sammy Sunshine positive for you." Merle essayed to strike another of his horrible deals. "Hey, see that hacksaw in the tool bag over there?" Merle jabbed his finger at Dale's tool box, lingering a few feet away from him. T-Dog passed a hand through the area of his face Merle and beaten him. "Get it for me, hmm? Make it worth ya while. Whadya say? C'mon man, take me off these things." He illustrated, by motioning his hand in the cuff.

"So you can beat my ass again?" T-Dog retorted coldly. "Or call me nigga some more?"

"C'mon now, that wasn't personal." Merle lied. "It's just that my kind and your kind ain't meant to mix. That's all. Don't mean that we can't work together, parley, as long as there's some kind a' mutual gain involved." Merle grinned, talking business. "So…'bout that hacksaw…"

"I guess you want that rifle too so you can shoot the new guys when they get back, uh?" T-Dog predicted, glancing at the gun and then back at Merle.

"Hmm." Merle breathed, barely moving his face or body.

* * *

><p>Back at the Atlanta camp, everything was rather calm. Things had set down after the communication from the C.B., and everyone was back at their usual tasks. Dale had taken a break from standing on top of the RV, and Allen was now replacing him. His wife, Donna, along with the other women had gone doing laundry except for Amy, who was watching over the kids and Lilly who was trying to keep her dad calm. Doug off tinkering with some contraption. Ed lazily smoking a cigarette. Kenny busy with his truck.<p>

"There ain't a goddamn hose in this world." Dale whispered, as he was immersed inside the RV's engine and he was unscrewing bolts with his tools. Jim was standing behind him. He was a rather old dude, but was handy with the tools, especially when it came to vehicles. "Where the hell we gonna find a replacement?"

"It's late. They should've been back by now!" Amy complained. Beside her, Billy, Ben and Duck were playing around on the floor.

"Amy, don't stress out." Katjaa soothed her, being reclined in a lawn chair next to her son. "They'll be back eventually. Andrea knows how to protect herself."

"Kat, don't tell me that. If it were your husband out there you'd be stressing too." She replied, a bit harsher than she intended.

Katjaa thought it was best not to say anything else, knowing Amy wouldn't be calmed down. She turned her head and saw Sophia sitting in the station wagon near her father, Ed. Ed was drunk, low piece of scum, lazy, nothing good came out of that man. Carol wouldn't admit it, but everyone knew that he was violent to her. She would always appear with fresh bruises in the morning.

"Ed! Why can't Sophia play too?" Katjaa asked loudly.

Ed released a huff of smoke into the air, before he glared towards Katjaa. "It's none of your damned business, woman. Sophia stays here, she wants to be with her dad." He responded like a brute, before he looked at his daughter. "Ain't that right?"

Sophia nodded nervously out of fear, gazing at the ground. Katjaa sighed; there was nothing she could do. Ed didn't do anything to help around camp, and nobody seemed to have the balls to stand up to him.

Lori folded a piece of clothing and strung it on the hanger with a few springs. A few feet away from her, Shane and Carl were sitting by a burnt out campfire. Shane was teaching him how to do knots, or whatever things men like to do. From amid them, laughter erupted.

The next second, the radio began sizzling. "_H-hello, an-anybody h-h-ear me?!_" T-Dog on the other side spoke.

Heads were raised, and the group began gathering around the RV, because the C.B. was placed on top of it. Allen, being the one closest to it, gripped the radio and pressed the button.

"Hello? Reception's bad on this end." Allen uttered.

"_Shane?! That you?!_"

"Is that them?!" Lori demanded in an alarming voice, putting her hands on her hips. Allen nodded positively.

"_We're in some deep shit! We're trapped in Everett's Prescriptions!_"

"They're trapped?!" Kenny repeated with concern.

"_There're geeks all over the place. Hundreds a' 'em. W-er-ss-ro-nd-_"

"T-Dog! I can't understand!" Allen said in frustration, but then all there was was static. "Dammit. Lost 'im."

"They're in the local pharmacy." Mark conveyed, frowning his eyebrows.

"Shit…" Kenny muttered, sliding his hand down his face.

"Dammit. Look, guys, here's what we do." Shane voiced loudly, taking over leadership. "We wait. If in a few hours we don't get a word from 'em, we go get them, alright?"

"My sister's out there! She needs our help now!" Amy hollered, waving her arm towards the horizon.

"And my dad needs those pills urgently. You all know how he gets angry easily." Lilly ranted, intervening in the gang's conversation.

"I know, I know." Shane assented. "But we can't go out riskin' our people like that. They might be able to get out. We'll have to wait an' see."

* * *

><p>Rick, Lee, Carley and Andrea stepped into the drugstore. More walkers had accumulated on the windows, and some of them already had cracks, which was worrying. They paced around the room slowly and carefully, like they were walking on thin ice.<p>

"Me and Lee got a buncha meds from the pharmacy." Carley announced, in order to inform Rick and Andrea. "It'll be useful if someone gets hurt back at camp."

"This camp you guys have…is it outside of Atlanta?" Lee enquired, keeping an eye on the windows.

"Yeah, a lot of people." Andrea stated. "Usually, Glenn's the only one that comes here, but we thought we'd be able to get more stuff if we all…"

Suddenly, one of the windows shattered into a thousand pieces, that collapsed on the ground. The walkers on the other side began bending their bodies, flailing their arms to get inside.

"Shit!" Rick cursed. He pulled out his holstered Colt Python and aimed it at the lurkers, firing a deadly round into the skull of the walker that was about to get in.

The noise made the walkers more active. They had to find a solution quick, otherwise the horde would realize that there was an open entrance right there. Lee's eyes went back and forth until he spotted a large shelf right next to the broken window, perfect to barricade it.

"SHELF!" Lee screamed. Carley reached for her Glock 17, and fired a few rounds at the herd so as did Rick. The sound from the guns was bound to backfire on them, but they had no other choice.

Lee and Andrea sprinted across the room, avoiding the other shelves and empty food containers. They glued their hands onto the shelf as they pushed it with all their might and strength, letting out small groans.

They panted once the sturdy shelf was cloaking the window. They could hear the dead's claws scrubbing against it. Rick took the chance to reload his six shooter, whilst Carley just sheathed her weapon. "That ain't gonna hold for long." He affirmed.

Glenn, Morales, Jacqui and T-Dog stormed inside the room, gaping at the scene with shock. "What you find down there?" Andrea asked, recomposing herself.

"Not a way out." Morales said with a lump up his throat.

"I managed to contact the camp, but what the hell we gon' do now?" T-Dog demanded, in a rhetorical question.

"There's a truck out back. We might be able to start it, but I'm not sure if we'll make it past the herd." Jacqui spoke.

"It's our only shot. We have to take it, otherwise we'll get swarmed in here. T-Dog, take this key." Rick elaborated, tossing a tiny key at Theodore. T-Dog peaked at the teensy object clutched in his hands with a serious face. "Free Merle and meet us out back. But now we gotta hurry."


	8. Chapter 8 - Glint Of Hope And Despair

**The Walking Dead: New Day Gone By**

**Chapter 8 – Glint Of Hope And Despair**

**A/N: So here's the eighth chapter my friends. It was a bit difficult for me to decide whether T-Dog would drop the key or not, but I think I made the right choice. Anyways, enjoy!**

Rick, Lee, Carley, Morales and Jacqui burst out of the backdoor leading into the alley. The door creaked and their feet echoed in the vacant space, and they were constantly looking around them to make sure no walkers got them. Maybe they were slow and stupid, but there was always one hiding somewhere or playing dead.

T-Dog was absent though. He was bolting through the stairs, in order to retrieve Merle.

The alley only had a couple of zombies lurking around. Besides them there was a cube van, with a big spot on the back to carry them all, and a Challenger red sports car was parked beside it. The rest of the horde was still focused on the pharmacy, but if they made too much noise that could change at any minute. Jacqui, Carley and Morales were carrying bags, filled with the supplies they scavenged.

Morales, equipped with a baseball bat, sneakily approached the first walker. He raised his arms and then downed them with all his strength on the monster's skull. Its cranium fractured and it slumped on the floor, releasing a squirt of blood in the air. It was still jerking its hands a bit, so Morales launched a finishing blow to its head, which killed it for good.

Lee decided to get the next one, but didn't have a melee weapon and guns were out of the equation. He took a quick glance around him and spotted a rusty metal rod. In a fast move, he ducked for a second and gripped it, before he leaped on his feet again. He swooped the rod in the air and struck the walker's head.

He still wasn't used to the fact that human skulls were too hard to be cracked that easily, so the zombie just swung around, facing Lee. Lee extended his eyelids, feeling a slight dread, before he prepared his arms again and threw another blow. This time around, he impaled it through the mouth.

He let go of the weapon as it fell along with the walker who was bleeding a thick and black liquid and had its jaw falling off. The group arrived at the two vehicles. "Anyone know how to hot-wire?" Carley asked, as low as she could. The people around her all halted in front of the two vehicles.

"I could try." Glenn said, with a calm voice.

"No need for that." Rick told him, stopping him by grabbing his shoulder. "These work vans, they keep an extra key on 'em. Just smash the window and get inside." He gave the green light to do something once thought of as crime.

Jacqui, Carley and Morales headed towards the back of the truck, tiptoeing, whilst Glenn strolled towards the driving seat. They heard the glass shattering, as Glenn broke the window with his elbow. In the back, they heard a sliding door being pulled open.

"Lee." Rick spoke, turning to the respective person. "You gotta create us a distraction, okay?"

"Yeah, of course." Lee concurred. He wasn't gonna be selfish; he was gonna give these people a chance. And if he didn't die in the horde back in the Atlanta, he wasn't gonna die now.

"Come with me." He instructed, leading Lee toward the Challenger. "When the alarm goes off, you drive off and meet us just out of Atlanta, okay?"

"How am I supposed to find you?" Lee inquired, staring at the attractive car.

"Glenn said to head towards the woods. We'll be waiting for you." Rick explained. He was about to turn around, before he halted and patted his shoulder. "You sure you okay doing this?"

"Of course. I'm probably the one who's got the least to lose." Lee admitted with a confident tone.

"We're all set!" Jacqui shouted, as Morales and Carley were already hopping in the back of the truck.

"Now we wait for T-Dog." Rick sputtered, keeping a steady eye on both the alley entrance and the backdoor. "I'll hot-wire the car and then you'll start drivin'."

"Got it." Lee muttered with a nod, before they twirled around and marched towards the vehicle.

Lee smashed the black window to pieces with a well-placed elbow. Rick had already leaped inside the driver's seat whilst Glenn was sitting right next to him. The rest of the group was dawdled in the back. Lee jumped in the air when a deafening alarm began screaming out of the car, but then he thought it would just make a better distraction. Rick reached in and opened the door, before he flung it open and bent inside, messing with the cables below the dash. After a few nervous seconds, the vehicle gained life and its engine roared.

"There ya go." Rick grunted, exiting the car and dashing towards the van.

Lee sat inside the car and shut the door. He wasn't used to being able to drive such an expensive vehicle, so the modern console made him perplexed in a good way, but that wasn't the task at hand. He stepped on the pedal and twisted the steering wheel, drifting off the alleyway and into the road.

Once he was on the road, he peaked at the rearview mirror and saw the massive horde of walkers chasing the sound. "Yeah! Come this way!" He yelled at the beasts.

* * *

><p>T-Dog was sprinting like a madman up the stairs. His muscles were sore and it was hard to inhale puffs of air, but he wasn't letting a man trapped in a rooftop for the dead to catch him. He was concentrated and had a single goal in mind.<p>

Skipping two steps at the same time, he finally arrived at the rooftop. He stormed inside the roof, stumbling around in a disastrous manner due to the lack of stamina. Merle, who was chained across the roof, was already smiling.

"Hey, T-Dog!" He hollered, waving his arm. "Here, man, c'mon, c'mon, get me out!"

T-Dog jogged across the space, his movements being sloppy due to the fatigue and the fact that he wasn't the most athletic person. He almost toppled over and dropped the key, but he prevented it and kneeled near Merle, who had a grin from ear to ear. "Yeah, that's right."

T-Dog inserted the key in the tiny hole, twisting it as fast as he could. He unlocked the cuffs, and then removed them from Merle's wrist.

"Okay, now…" T-Dog said, but was cut off when Merle punched him in the face, uppercut style.

T-Dog collapsed on his back, too dazzled to figure what had happened. Merle now had the upper hand. He picked up the metal circlets and wrapped one of them around T-Dog's idle hands, and the other one around the pipe. After the deed was done, he got up, taking his time. Placing a hand around the pipe and pulling himself up. "Don't feel too good being chained up like some beast, does it?!"

"What…what the fuck?!" T-Dog cursed, as he regained his senses and noticed that he was attached to the pipe. Merle got up with a laugh, walking towards the sniper rifle. T-Dog brandished his fist, but it was stuck due to the handcuffs. "Hey, man, don't leave me here!"

"Sorry, Jay-Z." Merle hissed, picking up the gun and checking the chamber, before pushing the bolt back. "You'll be fine. I'm sure you know how to pick locks." Another idiotic laugh, as he slung the sniper on his back.

"C'mon, Merle, what the fuck!" T-Dog grunted, kicking around, essaying to release himself from the cuffs. He viewed in despair as Merle ambled vanished into the door, whistling in joy. "Murderer! You're a fuckin' murderer!"

Merle disappeared inside the building, shuttering the door with force behind him. "MERLE! Don't leave me here!" T-Dog blared, but he knew that that metallic sound meant he was doomed.

* * *

><p>Rick chewed his thumbnail nervously. It had been a few minutes ever since Lee departed, and he was getting worried.<p>

"Where the hell is he?!" Andrea interrogated, with a stressful sigh.

The backdoor then flew open. They at first believed it to be T-Dog, but then they acknowledged the redneck smile and clothing, along with the sniper rifle. It was Merle, and T-Dog was missing.

"Oh shit." Rick said, as Merle was elevating the rifle and aiming it at the van.

"GET DOWN!" Glenn shouted being in the passenger seat. The same second they all curled into human balls, the windshield was shattered by a bullet, sending pieces all over Rick and Glenn.

Rick crushed the accelerator as he turned the steering wheel towards the exit. Jacqui in the back let out a small scream as they rushed out of the alley and into the street. Another bullet struck the side of the truck, but that didn't stop the vehicle.

"Yeah, that's right an' run!" Merle mocked, raising his rifle in the air with one hand.

Back in the truck, the group in the back was slumped against the van, panting as the van wobbled from the holey road. A few glass pieces were scratching Rick's back, but the adrenaline made him have a serious face as he gaped at the road in front of him.

"I can't believe…Merle…what'd he do to T-Dog?" Glenn questioned, a few high breaths exiting his lungs.

"If I had t' guess," Morales voiced, taking a tiny break to speak. "He fought T-Dog and left him up on the roof."

"Jesus, I…I can't believe we left him behind…" Andrea stated, burying her face in her palms.

Nobody else said another word. The only thing they heard was Rick's breathing, giving his trademark glare at the road: head lowered, eyes almost rolling out of his orbits.

* * *

><p>T-Dog had now deemed useless liberating himself from the cuffs. All he could do now was droop against the pipe. Awaiting rescue, death, whatever. His backwards hat didn't help a lot protecting the sun, but he didn't care right now.<p>

Suddenly, he heard a noise coming from the closed door. His head turned around and he glanced at the door. He opened his mouth, because he thought it was Merle, but then he started hearing growls and strange noises, like hands rubbing the door.

Walkers.

His jaw trembled at the thought of being eaten alive. He had already given up on life, but now the thought of having teeth nosh his flesh gave him strength.

"Aw hell no." He whispered to himself.

His head darted in every direction, before his eyes set upon Dale's tool bag. It had a variety of tools sprouting out of it. Hacksaws, rulers, wrenches, but the instrument that caught his eye was a screwdriver.

"There ain't no way in hell I'm dyin' today!" He told himself.

He used his right hand to take off his t-shirt. It was a bit hard being single-handed, but after a few seconds he managed to. He twisted it as the battering on the door intensified in order to craft a spoon. He then laid on the ground, lancing the garment to try to catch the screwdriver.

"Ain't dyin' today!" He muttered. He was almost encasing the tool in his t-shirt. "AIN'T DYIN' TODAY!"

He embraced the screwdriver with the 'grapple', and the tool fell inside his reach.

* * *

><p>The burglary alarm just kept emitting an annoying sound, attracting the entire city's attention. Lee parked by a nearby house. Instead of heading towards the Atlanta camp immediately, he had taken a little detour.<p>

He looked out the window, ignoring the intermittent noise. The household had been vandalized, an image that made his heart throb, and some aspects he didn't recognize. The front door, accompanied by a brief staircase. The two front windows, broken and having empty holes in their frames. Blood and even a severed corpse littered the front yard, tainting the green grass.

Lee opened the door and got out, only having one thing in mind. He approached slowly the body that was mutilated on the ground. As he took each step, his heart was beating faster, his jaw convulsed even more violently and his narrowed eyelids began to stretch out.

"N…n…no…" Lee murmured.

The cadaver had one of its legs missing, the other being rotten and scratched. The clothing, consisting of a pink t-shirt and a skirt, were all torn to pieces. The dead woman's face, that was putrid and had dragged expressions, featured long brown hair that was messy and jumbled.

That woman was Deborah.

"No…no…no…" Lee repeated with a shaky voice.

He crumbled onto his knees. He felt his cheeks become wet, as tears materialized in the corner of his eyes and strolled towards the end of his jaws. He was forced to cover his mouth his left hand because of the smell and the disgusting sight. His breathing was irregular and erratic, air coming out of his lungs in stranger manners. His right hand moved to touch his wife's cadaver, but for some reason he always retracted it.

Oh no, it was coming…

Lee arched over his body more than he already was and a yellow paste spewed out of his mouth, which intensified the tears. After he had released everything, he swept his hand past his lips.

Without warning, the body on the ground became animated, spasms surfacing to its wrists and ankles. It then leaped onto Lee, pinning him onto the floor.

"What the…!" Lee blurted out, being diverged from his sobbing.

He gripped the zombie's shoulders, as it kept motioning its arms and biting the area between Lee's face and its mouth. He was gonna die. He was too weak to support the undead Deborah, and for a second he didn't think we wanted to live.

Then he heard footsteps in the grass. He twitched his head and spotted a little girl sprinting in his direction, before she stalled her jog beside Lee. She wore a white dress, her head germinated a big afro and she donned a purple D hat.

"Here!" The girl screeched, lending out a hammer to Lee.

That undead woman was his wife, but in a life or death situation survival instincts take over. Lee clutched the hammer with difficulty, before he drew a half-circle in the air with the tool and it landed on Deborah's head.

The walker collapsed on the ground, relieving Lee from the weight. He didn't waste a second diving on his feet, and then he twirled around and struck Deborah in the face again. The blow sent blood, dead skin and brains around his shirt and his hand.

He hit her again. And again. And again. Until she was motionless on the ground like a ragdoll. Lee panted and took a few steps back, dumping the hammer on the floor. "What's…what's your name?" Lee asked the little girl. He was a bit shocked seeing an infant out there all by itself, but it was enough of a distraction to get his mind off Deborah.

"My…my name's Clementine."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yahoo! The moment everybody was waiting for! Lee has now met Clementine, but what happens to T-Dog? Make sure to tell me your opinions.**

**Also, was I the only one who cried in the mid-season 5 finale, "Coda"?**


	9. Chapter 9 - Rendezvous

**The Walking Dead: A New Day Gone Bye**

**Chapter 9 – Rendezvous**

Rick along with the rest of the group that had gone with him, were arriving at the Atlanta camp. Glenn had stated that their destination was too far away. They were driving through a harsh road. Rocks, branches and stones made it hard for the tires to roll, and Rick had to avoid trees to pass between them. Besides Rick who drove, the rest were still as statues, trying to forget about T-Dog and only hoping they'd be able to retrieve him later. They had no clues of Lee.

"Are we close?" Rick inquired, so concentrated that drops of sweat sprouted of his forehead.

"Yeah, just about." Morales said.

Just then, Rick started seeing a figure beyond the vegetation. Narrowing his eyes and tightening the wheel, he recognized it as being an impeccable RV, where a man stood on top of it with a sniper rifle holstered on his back.

"We're here." Glenn announced, being obvious. In the back, the survivors became happy, knowing they would see their families again.

Rick switched off the ignition as he parked in a clearing near the urban bivouac. He heard the back gate door rattling, as Jacqui, Carley, Morales and Andrea hopped off. A blonde girl came running and squeezed her arms around Andrea. And Morales was greeted with his Hispanic family, made of his wife, his son and daughter.

The sight of this just made Rick sadder. It reminded him of his family. He banged his head lightly on the steering wheel, feeling his eyes watering and his throat drying. He dissipated those thoughts away, putting them into a latent state. Now it wasn't the time.

He exited out of the cube van, stepping out onto the mud below his feet. Apparently, Morales was talking about him to a few of the group members and Andrea to her sister.

In front of him, there were only faces of men and women that he didn't recognize. It made him feel a bit lost. But then he acknowledged two faces he never thought he'd see again.

"Holy shit…" Were the only words coming out of his mouth, as his jaw drooped.

…

Lee started noticing that walkers were erupting from around each corner, alley, door and window. That goddamned alarm was like a dinner bell ringing. They had stayed idle for too long.

Lee wiped his face and grabbed Clementine's hand. "Let's go!"

The man sprinted with the girl towards the Challenger, careful not to let her fall. He opened his door in a hurry and let Clementine go first, as he peaked around him to make sure no lurkers were catching him from behind. Clem scooted on the passenger seat, before Lee sank in the driver seat.

The urban person shut the door with all his mighty, just when he noted that the motor had been on all along, wasting gasoline. He felt a bit frustrated, but it would have been impossible to switch off the engine without the keys.

He changed gears with his right hand, then smashing the accelerator with his foot. The powerful car only took a few seconds to reach a supersonic speed, which caused Lee and Clementine to be dug into their seats.

A small horde was beginning to form with the incoming biters. Being distracted by the adrenaline, Lee rammed into a roamer that had managed to step into the track. It clashed against the windshield, splattering black blood and dead flesh across it. Both Clem and Lee began screaming; Lee especially because he couldn't see what was in front of him. He twitched the steering wheel back in forth, creating an erratic balance, and even had the idea to turn on the windshield wipers. All of the combined elements eventually led to the zombie falling off the car. And the wipers made the road clear, except for some bits of putrid skin.

The duo panting, Lee was wondering if their loud alarm wasn't gonna get them killed. But it was no use dwelling on it, afterall he wouldn't know how to turn it off.

"So…I'm Lee." Lee presented himself, as Clementine calmed down. "Put your seatbelt." Clementine obeyed, in a warp stringing herself up with the belt to protect herself. "Where are your parents?"

"They're in Savannah." Clementine affirmed, her voice still somewhat shaky.

"You've been survivin'…all by yourself?" Lee guessed, elevating his eyebrows.

"…Yeah…" Clementine admitted.

"Well, Clementine…I'll be taking care of you until your parents show up, okay? You can't be out there all alone, it ain't safe." Lee conceded with a hand gesture.

"Hmhm." Clem assented with a noise.

"We're gonna get out of Atlanta." Lee disclosed. "There's a camp there. Got people I know there. We'll be safe."

…

Lee stopped the car near the camp, as the burglar alarm just kept going off. "Stay in here." Lee adverted. Clementine nodded, and Lee exited the car.

A man, donning a Sheriff hat, came sprinting in Lee's direction. "Who the hell are you?!" The man demanded, his hand lingering around his gun holster.

"I'm Lee. I'm with Andrea and the others!" He spoke, but then sudden realization struck him. "Wait…you're that sheriff from the hospital!"

Shane extended his eyelids. "Holy…fuck." Shane mumbled, before he ran up to the hood. He popped it and fiddled inside, before he ripped out a cable which shut off the alarm.

Three more people arrived at the scene, who unknown to Lee were Amy, Kenny and Lilly. "Who's this guy, Shane?! He's gonna bring all the walkers on top of us!" Lilly sputtered with an angry expression.

"Look, guys, I'm Lee. I was with Andrea and the others." Lee repeated.

"Andrea?! She's okay?!" Amy inquired with a concerned tone.

"Yeah, she's fine." Lee said, as he jabbed his finger towards the horizon. The four people spun around and gawked toward the woods, spotting a cube van arriving. "And I'm sure that's them arriving."

…

Rick, Lori and Carl ran towards each other, attracted to each other like magnets. They all took part in a huge family hug, in which Rick held him tightly. "I can't believe…I thought you guys were gone…" Rick admitted.

At the same time, Shane and Lee holding Clementine's hand were joining the occasion. "I-I was so worried about you…" Rick muttered.

Shane removed his hat and patted Rick on the back. "It's good to see you, man." Shane conceded.

Rick turned his head around and a smile appeared in his face when he spotted him. "Oh my God, Shane!" He said, his eyes almost escaping his skull.

Lee glanced at Clementine and they both smirked. If Lee had to guess, Shane and Rick were probably partners before the apocalypse. "Shane helped us get here." Lori explained as the family slowly detached from the hug, and she wiped a tear away. "We wouldn't have made it without him."

Carley stepped into the scene and halted near Lee. "Made it here safe?" She asked.

"Couple close calls, but we're fine." Lee elucidated with a calm voice.

Carley gaped at Clementine in amazement. "So…who's she?"

"She's Clementine. Found her on the way here." Lee elaborated, taking a peek at Clem.

"That's a very special name sweetie." Carley complimented. Clementine hid behind Lee's legs.

"Thank you." Clem thanked, as her cheeks blushed.

"Looks like Rick and Shane used to be partners." Carley observed with an elevated eyebrow. "Once they're done catching up, Shane can give you a tour; let you get acquainted with everyone."

Carley set off to go somewhere. Lee strolled towards Rick and Shane, who were talking like old friends. "You're Lee, right?" Shane asked as the man approached.

"I am."

"And you got a daughter with you!" Shane perceived with an enthusiastic tone.

"She's not my daughter." Lee contradicted, passing his palm in front of his chest. "I'm looking after her temporarily."

"Well, I was just about showing Rick this place out. Come along." Shane said, waving his arm towards himself.

…

Glenn folded his arms and drew an arc in his mouth. It was hopeful, seeing a family reunite in the ruins of mankind. Just then, Lilly walked up to him and intervened.

"Glenn, what were you thinking?!" Lilly stipulated. Glenn already knew by her voice this wasn't good.

"What do you mean?" Glenn inquired, feeling slightly confused.

"You brought three new people into our group!" Lilly hissed, splattering her words on Glenn's face.

"So what's wrong with that?" Glenn insisted, still not knowing what she was talking about.

"Have you seen how many mouths we have to feed?" Lilly mentioned, throbbing her arm towards the group. "We're, what, twenty-six people here? And now with the new people we're almost thirty!"

"I couldn't leave them behind to die! Plus, Rick was the one who helped us get outta there." Glenn riposted. Lilly sometimes was a head hard to crack.

"Maybe you see it that way, but the food is getting scarcer by the day, and each time you bring fewer supplies." Lilly said, her tone lowering a little bit.

"We'll manage." Glenn reassured her. "Daryl knows his hunting stuff, he's even out there right now on one of his long hunting trips. Andrea and Amy often fish by the creek."

"Okay, but if we start to go starving, you'll be the one to blame." Lilly concluded her argument, before she spun around and paced toward an unknown location. Glenn sighed and slapped his own face, before Allen emerged by his side.

"Hey Glenn. Whatcha got?" Allen inquired.

Glenn crouched and unzipped his backpack. Allen got on his knees and too gazed inside the pack. "I got some candy bars for the kids, some soap, detergent and a couple rolls of toilet paper. We got more bags of stuff though."

"Great!" Allen assented, delighted with all of the things Glenn had ransacked.

…

"You guys already met Glenn, Morales, Jacqui, Andrea and Carley. Where's T-Dog though?" Shane interrogated. He was followed by Rick, Lee and Clementine, and Lori and Carl were accompanying Rick.

"We lost 'im downtown. Not sure if he's alive." Rick sadly enounced.

"Crap. The camp's gonna be sad. T-Dog was a good guy. Hopefully we'll be able to send a rescue team down there, find him. Merle isn't with you either. Daryl's gonna be pissed. " Shane reciprocated, disappointed. "Anyways, that's Allen hounding Glenn for supplies." Shane presented the man. "Allen's wife, Donna, is around here somewhere. They've got twins, Billy and Ben. They're hellions."

The group moved near the RV. Shane indicated the top of the vehicle, where an old man sat with a rifle on his lap. Two men with grimy clothes were sitting near the large RV, eating a can of beans. In the back of a station wagon, Ed and Sophia sat whilst Carol was taking care of clothing. "That's Dale up there keeping watch." Lee attentively listened to Shane, trying to remember everyone's names. They received a friendly beckon from Dale. "It's his camper."

"This place you guys settled in, it's nice." Lee flattered, looking around him at the green grass and the thriving trees.

"It's safer than Atlanta." Shane pointed his finger toward another old man leaning against the camper, and a young lady chatting with him. "That's Lilly, and her father Larry. Warn ya right away, he's got a temper. Steer away from him. Then there's Jim and Mark eating by the camper, along with the Peletier family: Ed, Carol and Sophia. They, uh, have discussions, so…just don't poke your nose inside."

They chased Shane past a few tents and reached a pickup truck. A redneck was bent inside, while his supposed wife and son were playing. "Those are Kenny, Katjaa and Kenny Jr., but we call him Duck."

"Duck?" Rick recited, with a perplexed face.

"Like water off a duck's back, right?" Shane said with a chuckle. "You probably won't come across Daryl anytime soon, he's out there hunting. He usually spends days missing, searching for game. There's also Doug, but he's a reserved guy. Likes to toy with contraptions he makes up himself. I think he's in the RV."

Shane, Rick, Lori and Carl departed in one direction, leaving Lee and Clementine alone. Around them, the people Shane had introduced them were doing productive things. "How do you like the camp Clementine?" Lee asked the little girl.

"It's nice." She shyly commented.

**A/N: Now that Lee and Rick have reached the Atlanta camp, things gonna get heated the next few chapters. Be sure to tune in and find out what happens next!**


	10. Chapter 10 - The Camp

**The Walking Dead: A New Day Gone Bye**

**Chapter 10 – The Camp**

**A/N: 'Sup guys! Hope you've been enjoying the fanfic so far and thanks for sticking around up to this point. I've been having a lot of fun writing this and it's awesome to have y'all around on the road trip!**

"Oh my! Are you the new arrival?"

Lee frowned in surprise and gracefully spun around at the voice of a woman, as Clementine shyly imitated him. Lee saw a bulky woman on the sides, with short blonde hair with a hand stamped on her chest. Probably Donna. Two young boys were her chaperons. Both of them wore red shirts, and had trimmed blondish hair. They were probably the twins, Billy and Ben.

"Yes, ma'am. My name is Lee." Lee said with a certain timidity himself too.

"Oh, it's a delight. I'm Donna, and these are my little ones, Billy and Ben." She presented the two 'hellions', pointing her arm at each one of them. The tiny boys had the same reaction as any other infant; hiding behind their mother's legs. "I've just heard that Rick was reunited with his family. Did you know him before all this mess?"

"Actually, no." Lee explained, now feeling a bit more at ease with all the hospitality. "He found me in the hospital. From there, we went along all the way here."

"Well, it's great you guys are here." She sighed in happiness, before she dropped her chin and spotted Clementine. "And you have a lil' girl with you!"

"Yes, but…she's not my daughter." Lee elaborated. Donna was struck with a perplexed expression. "She's Clementine. I found her alone in her house. I'm taking care of her until we find her parents."

"Well, Clementine, like the camp so far?" Donna inquired, bending to her height.

"Yes…" She vaguely sputtered.

"It's good to know. Well, I'm gonna leave you now. See you two around." Donna said her goodbyes, before she departed with Ben and Billy.

"Hey…so the name is Lee?"

Lee once again turned around, and came across the hillbilly he had seen before. Indeed, he had the aspect of one. Dusty ball cap, epic mustache and long mullet. His hands and dark green shirt were stained with oil.

"It is. This here's Clementine. But she's not my daughter. Just taking care of her while her parents are absent." Lee stated, before the redneck would ask the question everyone was asking him.

"I'm Kenny." Kenny lent a hand to Lee, which the latter hesitantly shook. He beamed his finger near Lori where a buff woman was stretching laundry and over a hill where a boy played with other kids. "That's my family. Katjaa and Duck. It's great to have ya here. We don't usually get walkers, but sometimes we need a guy who can…knock a couple heads together."

"I guess." Lee shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, I guess I'll see you around. If ya ever need anythin', come to me." Kenny asserted, before leaving the scene.

"I'll keep that in mind." Lee chuckled, as Kenny began to fade away.

* * *

><p>Night time had fast arrived. In the meanwhile, Lee and Clem hadn't done anything special, except strolling around, enjoying the view of the sunset. Rick and Lori were catching up near a camp fire, while Lee and Clementine were eating beans, butted against the RV and sitting in wooden stools.<p>

"Do you like it here, Clementine?" Lee questioned, after swallowing a spoon of beans.

"People are nice." Clementine admitted, setting down her empty and dirty can.

"They are…" Lee concurred, regarding the obscure horizon. "So…mind telling me your…story? Where you been all along?"

"I lived in a house near where I found you." Clementine told Lee. "There was a treehouse. I brought a lot of food and I stayed up there for days."

"You did good." Lee cracked a smile, raising his eyebrows. "It's smart…up there, the walkers can't get you."

"But then I ran outta food. And I had to get out. That's when I heard you scream…" Clementine finished her story as quickly as she started it, since Lee already knew the rest.

"Well, that's…impressive." Lee complimented, not knowing what other word to use. "A girl like you, surviving by herself...but what happened to your parents?"

"They're in Savannah, I think." Clementine described. "They went on a trip and left me with a babysitter. They still haven't returned."

Lee internally screeched. If her parents were in Savannah and hadn't come back…chances were they were dead. And him now having to look after a child…he could only imagine the things that could go wrong. He never had a son or daughter, so parenting was out of his field.

"So, uh…I'm gonna take care of you, okay? Until they come up, okay?" Lee confirmed, receiving a positive noise and nod from the girl.

* * *

><p>Sitting near a warm fire in a cold night, having Lori resting on his shoulder and Carl sleeping inside a tent, Rick Grimes couldn't be happier. Rick was contemplating his finger, enclosed with a wedding ring Lori had kept and given to him.<p>

"Is he asleep?" Rick enquired.

"Yeah, finally." Lori assented.

"I'm so glad you saved this for me." Rick rose his arm, to illuminate the ring with the bright fire and admire it better. "I felt naked without it."

"He can't sleep anymore unless he knows I'm right next to him." Lori elucidated with concern. "Never really had to slip away from him like that…I usually just lie there and look at him. He's…"

"You've been through a lot." Rick soothed his wife.

"Yeah…I'm sorry we left you…" Lori excused herself, with a low tone since almost everyone was asleep.

"Lori, please." Rick said, passing a arm behind her neck. "I understand the circumstances. "You thought Atlanta would be safer for Carl. I would've done the same thing."

"They said people were gonna stay at the hospital when they evacuated us." Lori confessed, cuddled with her husband's shoulder. "From what you told me…they must've abandoned the hospital less than a week after we left."

"You did what was right for little Carl." Rick enounced. "I'm just glad Shane was around to help you get here."

"I don't think I would've even found the way down here without him. Let alone survive." Lori confessed, before she let out a small gasp. "Your hand!"

Rick peeped at his palm, and saw that a bandage was wrapped around it. "That's just from the IV. It's nothing."

"Oh."

Rick l0oked around a bit, gazing at the darkness around them. Until his eyes crossed a shadow that stood on top of the RV. From his guess, it was Shane. "Is he enough up there?"

"So far that's all we've needed." Lori confirmed, looking at the camper. "Luckily those things haven't come at us in any numbers. Most we've had was three. Truth is…none of us really sleep anymore. Soon as we hear the shots, we're up and ready to defend the place. We've only got a few guns…Shane's pistol and Dale's rifle and a few others…but we got shovels around the camp to hit 'em with. It's been enough for now. They don't come here very often."

There was silence. Grasshoppers were making their usual intermittent noise. The fire whizzed and sent sparks in the air. Lori then started feeling Rick shaking, from head to toe. "Rick, you're…shaking."

"The past two days…I've been so worried about finding you and Carl and getting here in one piece…" Rick elaborated, his voice trembling too. "I haven't had time to be scared…"

* * *

><p>Shane was reclined on top of the RV. Keeping watch was important to make sure everybody was safe, especially during the night in which it's hard to spot walkers.<p>

But Shane wasn't planning on sleeping. Inside his body, a wave of feelings stormed him. There were the good ones, of joy because his partner Rick was back, and those of envy and rage…because now he couldn't be with Lori.

A cool breeze swept by, dissipating his thoughts. He gazed in the distance, and saw a fire burning. Burning too high. Beside it Ed was sitting, along with his intimated wife Carol and daughter Sophia. What the hell was that guy thinking?! The smoke could attract an entire herd to his location.

Shane decided to take action. He tossed the sniper rifle behind him, which automatically was saddled on his back. He scooted over to the ladder and climbed down, the metal echoing with each step. A few intrigued camp members, who didn't manage to sleep, were discreetly peeking at Shane, wondering what he was gonna do.

Shane walked carefully toward Ed, dodging the tents, buckets, burnt-out pits, anything that got in his way. Just as he arrived, Ed shoved a log into the fire, sending crisps of fire into the air.

"Hey, uh, Ed…you might wanna rethink that." Shane adverted, ripping out his hat out of his head, and twitching his fingers with his other hand. "Some people are tryin' to sleep, and every biter for miles can see the fire."

"It's cold man." Ed lazily said. Sophia and Carol were sleeping in a sleeping bag next to him, trying to at least.

"Cold don't change the rules." Shane affirmed with a mutter. Now more members were awakening, complaining with groans from the noise and the light. "We gotta keep our fires as embers, so they don't see us from a distance."

"I said it's cold." Ed insisted, now with a more hostile voice. "Mind ya own business for once."

"Really wanna have this conversation?" Shane said as softly as he could, but he was feeling a fury developing inside him.

"Fine. Go on. Put it out." Ed finally gave the green light.

Shane was merciless. He wielded his thick boots and stomped on the fire multiple times, pulling sticks and twigs apart to put out the fire. After a few good kicks, the fire was just as small as the light of a glow-worm.

"I thank you for the cooperation." Shane falsely thanked, before he turned his head to Sophia and Carol. "How are y'all this evening?"

"Fine." Carol spoke flatly like a robot. "Sorry about the fire."

"No, no, no. No apology needed." Shane disclosed with a fake smile. "Y'all have a good night now."

He turned around and departed, feeling a tingly feeling of having done something right. But he was still thinking about Rick and Lori, and he just hoped Lori wouldn't tell anything to him.

* * *

><p>It was probably only around six o'clock, but the sun was already getting up, sending sunshine all over the land and dressing the sky in pink nuances. And the group was already getting up, along with our heroes.<p>

Lee woke up inside his tent; the first thing he saw was the green fabric above his face. And the first thing he noticed was the ache.

"Ow." Lee groaned as he slowly got up, his back screaming and cracking in agony.

He looked to his side and noted that Clementine was still slumbering. He thought it was best to leave her alone; she had gone through quite the adventure back in Atlanta. Lee got in a squatting position and wriggled his way out of the tent.

He saw Glenn a few feet away from him, with his arms crossed. He paced over to him, taking a quick glance to verify that Clementine was still inside the tent resting.

Lee stopped by Glenn who was moping. "Look at 'em." He instructed with a sad voice.

The Challenger Lee had driven was in front of them, surrounded by people who were tearing it apart. A car-jack sustained the vehicle in the air. Morales was just about unscrewing one of the tires, Dale was siphoning the remaining gasoline with a red container and a hose, Jim was doing something on the engine with his wrench and another guy, who Lee supposed was Doug, was rummaging through a pile of spare parts the others didn't need.

"Vultures." Glenn disapproved, shaking his head. "Yeah, go on, strip it clean." Glenn encouraged, albeit he was pissed off at them.

"Cars need every drop of fuel they can get. Sorry Glenn." Dale apologized, patting Glenn on the back before leaving the scene.

"Don't be sad Glenn." Doug talked, picking up a loose screw and then tossing it back on the pile. "A few of these parts are all I need. Then I'll be able to build an alarm system that warn us for walkers. Ain't it cool?!" He demanded with an excited voice.

"Yeah, yeah." Glenn sarcastically assented. "Thought I'd at least be able to drive it ONCE before they took it apart."

"It's okay Glenn. Maybe we'll steal another someday." Lee consoled him, before his stomach growled in hunger.

He marched towards the RV and stepped inside. The inside was arranged as well as anything could be nowadays. The multiple cabinets were tidied and the only thing messy was a coffee mug near the sink. And by the looks of it, Carley was eating a can of veggies while Dale was storing things in a closet.

"Oh, uh…didn't expect to find anyone here." Lee awkwardly acknowledged.

"Have you eaten breakfast? Take a seat." Carley invited, pointing at a stack of other canned food beside her.

"Oh, uh, okay." Lee said, as he sat in the opposite chair from Carley. From all of the canned goodies, he picked a spoon and a can of beans. Those were his favorite. "Thanks, uh, a lot for taking us in. Atlanta was a giant shit storm."

"No problem. If you hadn't arrived, we wouldn't have gotten those pills for Larry. I can't imagine how PISSED he would've been." Carley giggled. "So…that little girl, Clementine. What do you plan to do with her?"

"Take care of her." Lee granted, halting the spoon of beans that was being sent in the direction of his mouth. "Her parents are in Savannah. I'm worried that they…might not have made it. But what other choice do I have?"

"Well, she's in good hands." Carley subtly complimented. "I'm not worried. You handle yourself well, and she's relatively safe with you. You'll manage."

"Thanks." Lee grinned.

* * *

><p>On the other side of the camp site, Rick was waking up too. He was stretching out in the tent, and through the open 'door' he could see Lori awakening too bit by bit; however Carl was still hard-sleeping.<p>

"Morning, partner." Shane greeted, giving a nudge to his hat.

"Hey man…I thought you'd still be asleep. You kept watch most of the night, didn't you?" Rick observed.

"Glenn took over about half-way through…" Shane explained, jabbing his thumb at behind him. "But I don't sleep much anyway. Go and go see Dale in the RV. He's gathering a buncha fuel for the cars. He'll give ya a rifle."

"A rifle? Why?" Rick catechized with a wiggly eyebrow.

"We goin' huntin', partner!" Shane enthusiastically said, like two old men remembering the good ol' times.

"Oh, okay." Rick nodded, before he brushed past Shane over to the RV.

He climbed onto the camper. "Oh, hello."

"Good morning Rick." Lee accosted, twisting his torso around in his chair to look at Rick.

"Settling in okay?" Carley challenged, as if in completing Lee's phrase.

"Yeah, thanks for asking. I was wondering, Dale, if I could borrow a rifle from ya." Rick pondered, as Dale closed the closet and stared at Rick.

"Yeah, of course. In the cabinet there." Dale indicated, aiming at a cabinet right next to Rick.

"Thanks." Rick said. He looked to his left and opened the wooden door of the cabinet Dale had shown him. Inside, he saw a long and sturdy sniper rifle, along with a box of ammo. Rick seized the two objects, slinging the rifle on his back and hauling the box by hand.

He waltzed out of the RV and looked at Lori, who was carrying a cardbox full of clothes. She was laughing with Shane, who had his shotgun lingering on his shoulder.

"You ready? We gotta get goin' if we gon' catch anythin'." Shane quizzed, preparing his gun.

"Ready when you are." Rick asserted. Rick volunteered to carry Lori's box, but she refused.

"I'll take these hon'."

"Scrub 'em up real good." Rick joked with her. "They're a bit funky."

"Uh-huh…don't you have some animals you have to shoot?" Lori interrogated, as Shane offered Rick his sheriff hat with long wings and a star stamped on the middle.

"That's the plan. Love you." Rick said as he donned the hat. Shane and Rick spun around and departed for the forest.

"I love you too. Be careful." Lori adverted.

Lori walked in the opposite direction, the weight tugging her arms down, before she came across Carl. "Carl! Where're you going?"

"I'm gonna play with Billy and Ben, mommy!" Carl declared, apparently very ecstatic. "Why doesn't Sophia ever play?"

"Ed doesn't let her. And don't go insisting if he doesn't let her, okay?" Lori cautioned with preoccupation. She bowed down and gripped her son by his stuffed cheeks. "I'm gonna go wash clothes with Donna, Lilly and Carol. Don't go out of Dale's nor Allen's sight. If they tell you to go in the RV, you do it!"

"Okay, momma."

"Don't worry." Donna intervened, carrying a bundle of clothes along with Carol. "Amy and Andrea are gonna watch the kids. Anything to get outta laundry duty…"

"You're damn right!" Amy spoke, being way more relaxed and funnier than when she was worried sick by her sister.

"Not in front of the kids." Donna reprehended, her smile fading.

"Oh, bite me!" Amy retorted. "Stay safe."

"Always." Lori asserted, as the women departed.

Lilly, who was just about joining the girls, was interrupted by her father Larry. She hated doing laundry, but it was important nonetheless. "Lilith, you're not really plannin' on going out there, are you?" Her father stopped her, his calm voice showing a slight entanglement.

"Dad, it's Lilly. And I'm just going down by the creek." Lilly soothed Larry, passing a hand on his arm. "We won't take long. Allen's keeping watch, he'll keep an eye on us. And we'll be careful." Lilly turned around, before she halted. "And don't get nervous or angry. Don't forget to take your pills."

"Okay, Lilly. Be safe." Larry told her, now being defeated.

**A/N: BRACE YOURSELVES! CARLEE IS COMING!**


	11. Chapter 11 - Save Private T-Dog

**The Walking Dead: A New Day Gone Bye**

**Chapter 11 – Save Private T-Dog**

**A/N: I know I've been VERY late on updates, I'M SORRY! I had a few issues and I've been busy. I know it's a bit late, but happy Christmas and good 2015!**

Lilly, along with Donna, Lori and Carol who never participated on the group's conversation because Ed kept a tight leash on her, were walking towards the river. They all carried boxes and bundles of clothes, that were smelly and in need of cleaning. Behind them, the RV along with the rest of the camp began disappearing the further they marched inside the forest.

"I can't wait to see how these clothes smell with the new detergent Glenn got from the city!" Lori exclaimed, breaking the silence.

"Jesus, Lori, listen to yourself." Lilly admonished with an annoyed tone. "Excited to try out a new detergent? Bullshit."

"Geez, Lilly, we're not throwing a party." Lori said, gazing at her. Even though Carol was present, she was latent and didn't interfere in the conversation. "I'm just looking forward to the possibility of clean smelling clothes. That'd be a welcome change at this point."

"Lilly's right." Donna agreed in a snarky tone. "I don't understand why we're the ones doing laundry while they go out and hunt. When things get back to normal I wonder if we'll still be allowed to vote?"

"Are you serious?" Lori inquired with a giggle, elevating an eyebrow.

"It's true." Lilly backed her up. "I'm damn fit to shoot a gun as any other man in that camp, but we're the ones stuck with this job."

"Maybe you can, but I can't shoot a gun." Lori confessed with a smile. "I've never even tried. To be honest…I would trust any of these guys to wash my clothes. Rick couldn't do it with a washing machine. He'd be lost out here. This isn't about women's rights. It's about being realistic and doing what needs to be done."

"Whatever." Donna dissed as the women finally arrived at the lake.

**. . . **

Meanwhile, somewhere in Atlanta's forest, Rick and Shane were hunting. They were each equipped with powerful rifles. They trekked through the woods as they talked, careful not to rustle too much.

"I thought I'd take Lori and Carl down here to her parents and come back." Shane complained, hoping over a log. "I thought this would be over in a week. I didn't want to explain stolen guns to the captain."

"Well…if you had seen the place the way I did, you wouldn't have been so worried about the rules." Rick replied. "I don't think it'll ever be the same."

"Don't say that man. This won't last." Shane said, trying to keep positive.

"I dunno man…it looked bad." He elaborated, sounding concerned.

"Well, I'm glad you brought these guns." Shane told him, changing the subject. He turned his head swiftly, searching for game. "We just had Dale's rifle and my sidearm. Someone had to keep watch with the rifle at all times…and it's hard as hell to hunt with a pistol. Just about everything we've had to eat was canned goods Glenn got from the city."

"Speakin' of which, I was thinkin' about taking some people into the city later." Rick proposed, which stamped a look of dazedness across Shane's face. "We can't leave that poor man chained to the roof."

"What?" Shane contradicted along with a frown. "Look, I don't mean to sound cold, but it's been a day since he's been there. 24 hours. You know the chance he's till alive?"

"Slim. I know. But we can't-"

Suddenly, they heard the sound of a stick crackling. Shane brought a finger to his lips and made a hissing noise. They marched in the direction of the sound, which was between the trees right in front of them.

Creeping up behind some bushes, they silently gasped when they found out what it was. A walker – wearing glasses, white shirt and tie – was on its knees, munching a decapitated deer. What was the most disgusting was the enormous pool of blood, stretching from its bloody neck all over to the zombie's torso.

"It doesn't know we're here…" Rick whispered to his friend.

"Do you think we should get the deer from it?" Shane inquired, their mumbles muffling the noise of teeth eviscerating meat. "It'd be safe to eat?"

"I'm not…" Rick was cut off when an arrow flew through the air.

They didn't even have time to react when a projectile, small, shaped like a rod and sharp like a blade penetrated the air and pierced the walker's skull. Rick and Shane gasped again and took a step back, as a few drops of blood splashed onto their faces.

Then, the shooter of the arrow appeared and moved toward them. He was a bulky man, with tough muscles and wielding a crossbow.

Daryl Dixon.

**. . . **

"You don't have to constantly keep watch!" Lori told Lilly, who was standing up near the creek while the other women scrubbed clothes in the water. "They're not that fast. A quick glance in every direction oughta do it."

"I'm just being thorough." Lilly said calm but firmly, before joining the other women. "Y'know, perhaps we should talk to Carley. She never does laundry duty with us."

"She said that she wasn't too good at it." Lilly confessed with a grin. "She said that before she didn't even have time to wash clothes."

"That's a buncha bull, but enough with the yappin'. So, entertain us Lilly…any boyfriends? You never really told us anything 'bout your life." Donna asked curiously.

"Me?" Lilly repeated, somewhat shocked and surprised, caught off guard by the question. "I wouldn't want to bore you to death."

"C'mon, I could use a really good nap." Donna retorted with intonation.

"Well, I uh…" Lilly began, clearing her throat and trying to organize the words on her mind. "I used to work at Robin's Air Force Base."

"Wow." Donna blurted out in bewilderment, raising her eyebrows. "That's great! I doubt any of us ever had a really exciting job."

"It's not the way you imagine." Lilly said. "I dealt with shitheads and bureaucrats all day. I only like, rarely drove a plane or did anything like that."

"I stand by my point." Donna affirmed, moaning before deciding to change the subject. "What about love life? I kinda expected a woman at your age to already be married and have kids. I was about your age when I first had Ben."

"I…" Lilly spoke, almost tripping over her own words. He gulped and cleared her gorge again. "I never had any boyfriends in college or anything. Closest I came to a relationship was with this guy named Brad."

"Mmh…continue."

"We, uh…liked each other. But when my mom died, my father needed more attention due to his disease. We drifted apart until we got separated." She talked in a sad tone, like they had touched a weak spot. "But that's all you need to know."

There was an awkward silence. You could see from the glow in Lilly's eyes that that certain subject was thin ice to tread. Donna, Lori and Carol were finishing packing up the laundered clothes.

"Let's go back to camp." Donna stated in a bossy tone.

Everybody got up, each one carrying a variety of soaked garments, as they marched back towards the small agglomeration of people, through the obscure forest.

Unfortunately they didn't see the African-American walker lurking through the trees, who darted his head towards the women when he listened to them.

**. . .**

"You filthy cock-sucking motherfucker!" Daryl screamed, as he kicked his killed zombie in the head, which lashed black blood, teeth and chunks of rotten skin into the air.

Shane and Rick viewed as Daryl kept raining kicks down on the lurker's skull, spitting profanities and splashing gore on the men's feet. Rick looked away, but Shane was a bit uncomfortable. He had to tell a man with a short temper that they'd leave his brother back in Atlanta.

Daryl finally halted, having released all of his anger. He panted heavily, before facing Shane and Rick. "Who's the new guy?"

"He's Rick. He was my partner back in Atlanta." Shane introduced him, exhibiting a firm hand in his direction.

"Hello, sir." Rick greeted.

Daryl glared back at the dead creature. He expectorated in disgust at it, before he removed the arrow from its abused skull. "Fuckin' weasel. I've been chasin' this deer here fo' hours! And then this son a' bitch comes along and mauls ma prey!"

"Daryl, it's okay." Shane declared, essaying to take his mind off the lost food. "We gotta…"

"Don't touch me!" Daryl spat, slapping his hand away. He started trekking, stepping on sticks and rocks as he headed towards the camp. Shane gave Rick an adverting peek, warning him of his temper.

"Hey, yo, Merle!" Daryl yelled, arriving at the camp. "I got us some squirrel. Buncha of 'em! Come help me skin these bastards." He ordered. No response. "Merle, get your junkie ass out here!"

"Daryl. We need to talk. About your brother." Shane claimed, ripping his hat off his head and toying with it.

Daryl's expression became dead serious. He twirled around and peeped right into Shane's eyes, approximating him in a form of intimidation. "What do you mean?!"

Shane placed a protective hand on the archer redneck's chest. "Calm down. Your brother, he left T-Dog behind at Atlanta. Even fired at Glenn and the raid party." He elaborated, Daryl's breathing getting angrier. A few people noticed the conversation, and stopped their activities to watch the imminent brawl. "So…we left him behind."

"YOU DID WHAT?!" Daryl demanded in a loud holler, sending drops of spit onto Shane's face.

"What's going on here?" Lee stepped forward, emerging from the RV and catching the redneck's attention. Daryl also seemed to notice Clementine at his side.

"We're tellin' Daryl about his brother." Rick explained, adjusting his belt and glaring at Daryl. "And by the looks of it, he ain't taking it well."

"Oh, so you bring all these new hillbillies to camp, but won't bother to bring back my bro?!" Daryl blared, turning around and looking at the crowd.

"Jesus, Daryl. He shot at our own folks." Mark said, from on top of the RV with his sniper rifle slung. "We could've murdered someone!"

"Enough guys." Carley voiced, taking a step forward. "All this arguing isn't gonna help! It's only bound to get attention to us."

"You son of a bitch!" Daryl insulted, as he swung a punch at Rick.

Rick, being used to this kind of thing, dodged swiftly. Lee already knew what he should do; he told Clem to stay in the RV as he intervened. Shane was pushed backwards from Daryl's push, and just in time he noticed Daryl unsheathing a knife.

"Daryl, no!" Shane shouted.

Lee entered the battlefield. Seeing the knife brought bad memories; that day in which he was stabbed, nearly losing his life. But just because he had the monotonous job of a History teacher, that didn't mean he had the bravery to interfere when necessary.

Albeit he still wasn't trained when it came to melee combat. He tried to stop Daryl, but the response was when Daryl swooped the blade again and scraped Lee's arm, slashing the tissue and cutting his skin. Ed smoked a cigarette a few meters away, apparently enjoying the fight. "Fuck!" Lee sputtered in pain as he covered the wound, which began spilling trails of blood.

Mark did a face palm. He hated when there were disputes among the group. Not that there were many; most of them being due to Ed's attitude. The fight continued near the RV, most of the group witnessing in despair the battle, with Lee only helping when he was danger-free and Shane and Rick handling most of the situation with their special training. Even Allen was stepping in, wanting to use his cumbersome stature to break them apart. He essayed to separate them, but sometimes he also had to recoil; sometimes always being diced by Daryl's knife.

But then Mark detected some movement out of the corner of his eye. He rose his head and twitched his head to the side. In the horizon, Donna and the three women were walking back towards camp. Although the distance made it a bit hard to see a clear picture of their faces, it was obvious that they were dumbstruck since they had no idea what the fight was about.

He also noticed the oozing zombie stalking them.

Mark leaped from the RV onto the ground, almost spraining an ankle in the process. He looked back at the group; everyone was too busy on the fight to notice it. It was his time to act.

"Hey!" He roared, his eyes peeled like a shell-less crab, and his hand wrapped around his mouth, like he was using it like a megaphone. "Watch out!"

The women glanced past their shoulders, realizing in horror the nearby threat. Lori, Lilly and Carol all dropped the thing they hauled, and began sprinting in random directions. Donna was the only one who stayed frozen in her place, her hands in front of her visage as the walker staggered towards her.

"No!"

Mark rose his rifle in an instinct, assembling it with the stock against his shoulder. He stared down the scope, having a clear shot. He was a bit fearful; only it took was a teensy movement for the bullet to go through Donna's skull. But he had to risk it.

He pressed the trigger. The noise blared through the camp, the four wrestlers halting their battle like they had become statues. The people in the crowd spun around in their heels, gazing terrified at the biter that had been put down, and whose brains were currently gliding through the air.

"Donna!" Allen quickly forgot about his task, and started speeding down toward Donna.

"It…it…" Donna sputtered, being on her knees. Allen slid on the ground, dirtying his jeans with dirt and grass, and hugged his wife in a comforting manner. Mark chased him and stopped near the lurker he had murdered. "I couldn't…I couldn't…it…thank you Mark…he would've killed me…"

"Ssh, ssh…it's okay." Allen consoled her, stroking her hair. He glanced at Mark. "Thanks. You saved my wife."

"Yeah…you're welcome." Mark said while panting. He wiped a wave of sweat of his forehead and then strapped his rifle onto his back.

Back in the fight, Rick and Shane snapped out of their sleepwalk. Shane tackled Daryl, who also awakened and grunted as he fell on the ground along with Shane. Rick snatched the knife, and ripped it out of his hand.

Lee walked towards the site, Clementine lagging behind him. "Don't look sweet pea."

"Jeez! Is everyone alright!?" Doug demanded in an extremely preoccupied way, scratching his head violently, almost ripping it off.

"Yeah. I think everyone made it safe." Mark reassured him.

"Lori!" Rick yelled, placing the weapon back into his belt.

He ran like a raging bull towards Lori, who had collapsed onto her knees and was sobbing rivers of tears. Rick tossed his gun on the floor and clutched her; his wife responding by latching onto him. "It came outta the woods!" She cried, sniffing. "Tried to kill us. It almost got Donna, but Mark managed to shoot it in time. Oh Rick, it was awful!"

"Goddammit! I fuckin' trusted in you to keep an eye over my daughter!" Larry intervened with his angriest tone ever, his face becoming red as tomatoes. He hugged his daughter, who was shaking but didn't cry. "My Lilly could've died!"

"Dad, calm down!" Lilly ordered. "It wasn't anybody's fault. If anything, Mark saved us."

"Yeah, give it a rest." Amy concurred in a snarky way. Larry knew that once again he was just the town fool, so he kept quiet.

"Let's get this thing into the woods and outta the way." Allen spoke.

In the next few seconds, Allen and Dale gripped the walker's wrists and started dragging the cadaver towards the treeline. The camp instantly became a zone of people hugging, saying sentimental words of comfort and recovering from the trauma.

"Everything's alright now, hon'." Rick reasserted a now smiling Lori with a loving hug, with little Carl joining in on the family activity.

"Is everything now safe, Lee?" Clementine asked worriedly to her mentor.

"Yeah…of course." Lee said. But in reality, his mind was afloat.

A few meters away from where the Grimes family were doing a family hug, Shane stood still. Lee was gawking him. He had his eyes narrowed, throwing a sharp look at the family with his stubbly and worn out face.

And that glance he was giving to Lori gave Lee goose bumps. That look, something was strange about it. He didn't know why, but his gut feeling was burning.

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter (although it came a bit late). Also, thanks for sticking around for this long and on a side note, now that I look back on it, Daryl was kind of an asshole back in Season 1.**


	12. Chapter 12 - Rescue Mission

**The Walking Dead: A New Day Gone Bye**

**Chapter 12 – Rescue Mission**

Life continues.

Ever since the incident, everything has soothed down, or it seems to at least. Even though there are no walkers around; and the person that was on watch was internuncial to warn the settlers of their presence, everybody was more wary and paranoid than ever in their tents amid the dingy night.

Shane was keeping watch, lulling a cold-steeled shotgun on his lap. The sky was crystal clear, showing a panorama of stars and shiny constellations.

"Psst."

Shane jumped on his seat and spat the toothpick he carried on his mouth when he heard that mysterious sizzle. He began hyperventilating and wrapped his big hands around the massive weapon. He turned his head and saw Rick climbing the RV sneakily.

"Jesus, man!" Shane reprehended, trying to keep his voice low as his heart beat faster. "Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Sorry." Rick apologized with a naughty smile, vaulting next to Shane. "I was just trying to get up here and not wake anyone up."

"Well, next time throw a rock at me or something." Shane advised, his breath turning into a cloud. "You scared me half to death. Especially after what happened earlier today."

"Yeah…that's actually what I came here to talk to you about." Rick confessed.

"Oh?"

"We need to move camp." Rick stated with a more serious and austere expression. His words struck Shane in the face like the latter had been punched. "It's not smart to be close to a city full of those things. It's just too goddamn dangerous."

"Are you crazy?!" Shane sputtered lowly, stiffening his eyebrows. "What happens when the government starts cleaning this mess up? They'll have to start with the cities. They'll find us faster if we stay here."

"When are they coming Shane?" Rick rhetorically asked. "Tomorrow? Next week? It's getting really goddamn cold out here and it's only gonna get worse. Not to mention what happened yesterday. It's too risky to stay so goddamn close to them."

"It's too risky to go anywhere else!" Shane reciprocated. "The fires are keeping us warm. There's plenty of firewood in this area. We'll be fine. This is the best place to wait for rescue."

"What makes you so sure we'll even be rescued?!" Rick demanded, trying to get through Shane's thick skull. "Donna almost died yesterday. What if it was one of the kids? What if it was Carl? Nobody was prepared for this Shane. You think those girls know how to fight?" Rick placed a hand on Shane's shoulder, to get through to his soft side. "If we go someplace safer, maybe we won't need to be rescued so soon. I'd rather have a good night's rest now and then than siting up at night, hoping the government is still intact and searching for us."

"No, dammit!" Shane screamed in a mutter, slapping off Rick's hand. Rick looked quizzically at the man's attitude. "We're staying right here!" He dictated. "We're safe HERE! Yesterday is one of the few isolated incidents. This is the safest place to be. Rick…we can protect these people. We'll be rescued here. If we go hide in the country it could take them months to find us. We've gotta stay here."

"Okay…if you feel certain that it's the best thing for us…fine." Rick coldly assented, merely due to the lack of options. "But if we're going to try and hold out here, we're gonna need more guns. If Donna had been carrying one yesterday she could've just turned around and shot that thing. Everyone here is gonna need to carry a gun at all times."

"How're we gonna find enough guns?" Shane enquired with a worried frown.

"Dunno. I'll figure something out." Rick said, before releasing a long sigh. "Also, it was really hard to keep Daryl calm after earlier. He's saying that he's going out to search for his brother at first light."

"So?"

"I'm going with him." Shane opened his mouth to say something, but Rick cut him off. "No. It was my fault we left T-Dog behind. I should've know that Merle would gain the upper hand on him. I also talked to Lee. He agreed on coming."

"Look, I already know you're not gonna stop." Shane told him. "But be careful. I don't want anyone to die and lower the group's morale as it already is. And look out for Daryl, he almost knifed us yesterday."

* * *

><p>After last night's conversation, Daryl kept his promise. As soon as the sun erupted, he had awakened and was ready to go out there, with his sharpened knife and mighty crossbow.<p>

Lee kneeled near Clementine, who was still sleeping in her bedroll. He had told Rick that he would tag along with them, since he also felt guilty for leaving T-Dog behind and couldn't leave him to the walkers. He wielded his revolver, that was hidden in his belt for protection. He felt like keeping his hands busy could take his mind off the grief over his wife.

He crawled out of the tent, and as he stood up he saw Carley with her arms folded. "Promise to keep an eye on her?" Lee asked her, spotting the van being loaded with some supplies by Rick, Daryl and Glenn. Apparently the Korean kid was also coming along.

"Of course, Lee. Don't sweat it." Carley reassured him, peaking at the tent. "Promise to be back in one piece?"

"Yeah." Lee nodded with a forced smile. "Don't plan on getting mauled today."

Rick put a small bag on the back of the truck, before he turned over to Glenn. The Asian man already had his backpack hanging in case they got the opportunity for supplies and his pizza themed hat. "Hey Glenn. Do you happen to know about any gun stores around here?"

"No, but I never really go that far into the city. Why do you ask?" Glenn inquired with a narrowed eyebrow.

"Well, I was thinking…" Rick elucidated. "If everyone was herded into the cities for protection there wouldn't have been much looting if everything was being organized by the government. And when everything went to shit…no one would've had the time to break into one of those. Them places are barred up, locked up tight. Nobody could've gotten in without being eaten and killed."

"That does make a whole lot of sense." Glenn concurred, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "I don't know exactly where we can find a gun store, but I know someone who knows."

Glenn looked around him, twitching his neck, searching for someone. His target was finally acquired, and he started walking towards Jim, who was sitting by a put-out fire while feasting on a can of beans. Rick followed him.

"Hey Jim!" Glenn hollered. "You gotta help us out man! Do you remember any gun stores around in the edge of the city?"

"Gun stores?" Jim mumbled, swallowing another spoon of beans. He remained silent for a few seconds, thinking of a possible answer. "Corner of Pleasant and 38th Street."

"Thanks Jim. I've got a map in my car, be right back." Glenn denounced, before he twirled around and walked over to his car.

Meanwhile, as Rick waited and kicked some dirt, he removed his Colt Python and checked the ammo. He let out a frustrated sigh when he saw an empty revolver.

"Gonna need help with that." Shane spoke out of nowhere, catching Rick's attention. He dug into a duffel bag he carried with his right hand, before he fished out four bullets and gave them to Rick.

"You and that bag…like the bottom of an old lady's purse." Rick joked, loading the bullets onto the Python. "Thanks. Where did you get these?"

"Remember that day we went to the shooting range?" Shane quizzed. Rick answered with an almost imperceptible nod. "Yeah, I accidentally took some of your rounds. Look, Rick, are you sure you wanna go through with this? It's gonna be a hell of a danger. I even think Lori and Carl are coming to shout at you."

"Don't worry Shane. I'll be able to handle Lori." Rick reasserted him with a pat. "I'll be fine. I'm going with Daryl, Lee and Glenn. We'll protect each other."

Shane nodded respectfully, before he spotted Lori arriving with Carl at the scene, and she didn't seem to be in the happiest of moods. Knowing this was his cue to leave, Shane departed without a word.

"What the hell Rick?" Lori demanded, approaching Rick with a furious expression. "You've only just arrived and you're going out again?!"

"Lori, I have to." Rick told her in a smooth manner. "Trust me, if I had the choice I'd stay here. But I'm doing this for all of us. I'm gonna go save T-Dog, and perhaps even get a buncha guns for us. Think about it, Donna almost died yesterday. People will be safer this way."

"But I don't want to have to worry about you again!" Lori complained, now having a more sorrowful face.

"Daddy, please don't go." Carl pleaded.

"Don't worry pal." Rick messed around with Carl's hair, jerking a smile. "I'll be back before you know it. I'm doing this so all of us can be safer. When I came back, I'll even teach you how to shoot a gun! You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

"I guess." Carl shrugged.

"No way!" Lori contradicted, going back to her angry attitude and moving her hand in a negative motion. "He's too young to shoot a gun."

"We'll argue about that when I get back." Rick concluded their dispute. "You won't even notice I'm gone. How many times do you think Glenn has come and gone safely?"

"I just don't understand why you gotta go. Why can't he just go with Dixon and Lee?" Lori questioned with an arm fold like an angry child.

"There're gonna be a lotta guns to carry." Rick smirked at her obvious question, before he closed in and kissed her on the neck. "Plus, what if T-Dog needs to be hauled back? He came across a guy who isn't lifted so easy."

"Got it!" Glenn exclaimed, raising the map in the air like a triumphant flag.

"Be careful." Lori adverted, letting go of her man.

"Of course, hon'. I'll be fine. I love you."

"I love you too." She said in a rather flat way.

"C'mon you buncha slowpokes!" Daryl shouted at the top of his lungs, almost awaking half the camp that was still asleep. "I ain't here to babysit a buncha old ladies!"

"Geez, man, would you keep it down?!" Lee berated, while Daryl just seemed to be astir. "Just let Rick say goodbye to his family."

"Hey Lee." Lee spun around when he saw Mark standing there, with a Glock 17 hidden in his belt. "Mind if I tag along?"

"I, uh…you wanna come with us?" Lee repeated in amazement, to make sure Mark wasn't delusional.

"Yeah. T-Dog was a nice guy, he was my friend." Mark admitted. "And I just gotta go back for him. Plus, an extra pair of eyes is gonna be useful for y'all, especially in a city like Atlanta."

"If you wanna come along, I won't stop you." Lee said. "But be warned: I saw first-hand how Atlanta is. If it weren't for Glenn, I would've died inside this huge horde of walkers I saw. It's risky. And I can't promise all of us coming back alive."

"I'm sure Lee." Mark convinced.

"Alright. Hop on." Lee told him, as Mark dived onto the back of the box van, while Daryl was impatiently waiting in the driver's seat. Lee headed for the passenger seat, while Rick and Glenn were joining them on the back.

"Mark, you're coming too?" Rick enquired as he shut the doors of the van from the inside.

"Yeah."

"Alright, folks, buckle up." Daryl warned, as he turned the keys on the engine, causing it to bark as loudly as an explosion.

"Okay, but remember Daryl. Our first priority is T-Dog. We're coming back if we can't find Merle." Lee warned him with a severe expression.

* * *

><p>A few minutes after the rescue team was gone, the sky had become cloudier and greyer. Due to the bad weather, most people were staying inside their tents, the activity on the community died down.<p>

Lori was isolated amid the trees, the humidity soaking the back of her neck and her silky hair. She cried into her arm, whilst leaning against a tree. Her thoughts ran a mile an hour, and the only thing that popped into her mind was 'Why did I cheat on Rick?! Why did I think he was dead?!'. Shane. Rick. Shane. Rick. Shane. Rick.

"Lori." Shane called out from behind the woman with an emotionless voice. Lori didn't respond, so Shane took a step further. "Lori, you shouldn't be out here…it's freezing and some biter might sneak up on you."

"Shane…just leave me alone…" Lori beseeched, muffled by her sleeve.

Shane could predict why she was like this. Seeing the person he most cared about like that made him both saddened and angry at himself. He approximated himself and posited his hand on her shoulder.

"Lori…" He whispered, but Lori pushed his hand away.

"No…Shane, let go of me…" She mumbled, her breath gasifying in the wet and frigorific air.

"Lori…what's wrong?" Shane enquired with pity and concern in his voice, like a hurt puppy.

"We can't…we can't do this anymore…" Lori affirmed, sniffling and wiping her nose. "Rick's back…I thought he was dead, you told me he was dead! What happened between us…can't go on…"

"But Lori…" Shane insisted, driven by an insane passion and a voice that became hoarse. "We had something unique…we had something special…don't you remember? That night at the side of the road? It was magical. The best day of our lives…"

"That night…" Lori said, before being interrupted by a lump in her throat that she gulped down. "That night, Shane…that night…was a mistake."

Shane was dumbstruck, those words breaking his heart at the same moment. He opened his tremble jaw to say something, but he choked on phrases, his thoughts too jumbled up. He shuttered his eyes for a second, before his expression became cold and blank. He lowered his head; the shadow of his hat covering his face; and he exited the scene.

* * *

><p>After some time of driving the van into the city, the survivors inside it were a bit anxious, about whether or not T-Dog would be alive. Daryl was driving the truck recklessly, with Lee on the passenger and the rest of the crew behind, preparing themselves for a fight if necessary.<p>

"So, guys." Glenn communicated loudly, to be heard past the noises of the rough road. "What's our first stop?"

"T-Dog, obviously." Lee expressed, glancing at Glenn from the rearview mirror. "The longer we wait, the slimmer his chances are."

"Yeah, actually agree with that." Daryl nodded in consent. "It's gotta be our main lead to him." Daryl said, before he began stepping on the brakes. "We oughta go on foot from here. Attracts less attention."

Mark got up, using the wall for balance, and rose the sliding door to the van, letting inside a wave of gloomy light. He hoped off the vehicle, with Rick and Glenn following, and the group of five men didn't waste no time to start jogging towards Everett's Prescriptions, where they had left their comrade.

* * *

><p>While Shane was a bulky and strong man; having the physique of a bear; he also had a heart. And what Lori had told him had been enough to take a toll on him. Inside, he felt a sensation of fire, a latent weight that just made him resentful and enraged.<p>

Just to think that a few days ago his life was at its best. He spent days laughing and playing with Carl, and the night interlaced with Lori. But then Rick showed up…

When he passed by a tree, that irate weight became too much for him to hold. He spun around in a quick and sloppy move and launched a punch at the tree along with a war cry. The contact made between the bark and his knuckles was painful enough for Shane to bent in two, clutching his hand and blowing on it.

"Fuck! Bitch, motherfucking cunt!" He sputtered angrily like the growl of a coyote, looking at his hand. The zone around his fingers and knuckles had quickly become red and he could sense some heat around the damaged area.

His head jerked when he heard a pitched scream, followed of a dry sound. He glimpsed at the camp, and saw Ed standing over Carol, who was crying and latching onto her hurt cheek.

Now it was an opportunity to release the beast within him.

Shane recomposed himself and marched towards Ed Peletier, with heavy and hulking steps like the ones of a colossus that made the Earth tremble. His breathing was out of control, becoming more regular and furious.

"ED! LET GO OF HER!" Shane yelled, so loud it could echo for miles.

Ed turned his head around. He didn't even had time to assimilate the silhouette of Shane, because the latter sent a fist raining on him.

The first impact collided with Ed's left cheek, itching Shane's hand due to his blotchy stubble. The unexpected blow made Ed fall onto the ground like a grown sapling cut down by a lumberjack.

Carol, who was still on the floor, cried even more upon seeing her husband being hurt. Shane kneeled down on top of Ed, sitting down on his filled gut. He threw another punch at his right jaw; for a brief moment hearing the rattle of broken teeth inside his mouth. Blood spewed out of his pie hole. Another jab clashed against his nose, cracking the bridge and twisting the edge of the nose in a macabre angle. By this time, Ed had received so much damage that he was probably lights-out.

Shane stopped for a brief moment, panting, as all of the fury had been release. He looked up, and saw Lori, viewing the brawl in shock. There was an oppressing silence, the only sound being Carol sobbing near her husband's body. Shane stood up, mopping some loose saliva from his chin, before he walked away from the survivors that were watching that he didn't even notice.

**A/N: I really liked enjoyed writing this chapter. I loved writing about Shane's insanity, along with that wicked fight scene. I think it turned out okay. This arc is gonna end soon, the next chapter being the penultimate and the one afterwards the final. Thanks for reading, peace!**


	13. Chapter 13 - Two Edged Stick

**The Walking Dead: A New Day Gone Bye**

**Chapter 13 – Two Edged Stick**

As they sprinted at a light pace, the rescue team's eyes were fixed on the pharmacy Everett's Prescriptions. The weather was still bleak, a grey blanket involving the globe. The single sight of the store his family owned made Lee nauseous and the best he could do was focus on the task at hand. The landscape was free of walkers for the moment; leaving the desolated and crumbled buildings, the wrecked cars melting into fallen electricity poles, gliding fliers and leaflets to be the sole inhabitants of Atlanta.

Reaching the door, Mark and Rick stood each by one of its sides. Lee and Glenn hunkered onto an offensive stance, in case a flood of zombies stormed them. Daryl immediately loaded an arrow onto his crossbow, and proceeded to raise it in the air with his firm muscles and revolving the door handle.

They took a peek inside, waiting for their eyes to get used to the darkness inside. The pharmacy hadn't changed much. The already looted shelves only ported things that had no longer use – shampoos, deodorants and perfumes -, the scene was vacant, lacking any type of life except for two female walkers storming around in the middle of the room. One of them wore a torn night robe, its griminess matched her filthy blond hair. The other one was older; her face scarred with both wounds from her time as a lurker and with wriggles.

"Ugly ass bitch." Daryl mumbled, when he shot an agile arrow into the blonde walker.

Its body collapsed on the floor heavy as a meat bag, just as the old lady noticed the living beings. Mark ran inside, broke one of its knees with a just kick along, crackling with a satisfying sound, and then stomped the zombie's head, splashing brains like a stomped watermelon and its skull flat as an empty tire.

"Clear. Where is he?" Mark asked, wiping his bloodied boot on the tile floor.

"Up there." Lee indicated, pointing his finger at the door on the side of the box-shaped drug store.

"Then come on! Merle might be stuck up there too." Daryl ordered, dashing towards the door.

He burst through the entrance, entering the massive and obscure stairway. He began pacing on top of the stairs that resembled spiraling piano keys, towards the roof. The rest of the group followed in a hurry, in the order of Lee, Mark, Rick and Glenn. All of them were now extremely anxious, anything could be waiting for them up there. The only sound in the echoing tower-like stairwell was their automatic footsteps and their heavy breathing.

* * *

><p>"Jesus H Christ." Kenny grumbled, looking at the beaten up Ed and Carol who was sobbing for a lost cause.<p>

"Shane really hit him hard…" Doug sadly commented, with an awkward face. In the same moment, Lori departed to parts unknown. "Should we like…help him?"

"To be honest…I think we should leave his sorry ass out here." Larry sighed, placing his hands on his hips.

"It's definitely what he deserves." Jacqui voiced in a cold tone, accompanied by a barren face.

"Larry, Jacqui, that's not right." Katjaa scolded with a judgmental tone. "I'll apply some bandages and disinfectant on him. But I'm gonna need help to drag him back to his tent."

"I'll help you." Allen came forward with a step, raising his hand. "Donna, take the kids inside. Kenny, Jim, Doug, I'm gonna need a lotta help to carry him."

The four enlisted men approached Ed, and each one of them grabbed a limb, Doug having more difficulty due to his scrawny muscles. They tried to lift him, but Carol was clinging onto his shirt.

"Carol, let them take him." Morales soothed, putting his Hispanic hand on her shoulder. "He'll be better inside his tent."

Reluctantly, Carol let go of him, and Jacqui, Andrea and Amy consoled her, as the men hauled Ed back to his tent and Katjaa followed them closely.

* * *

><p>Daryl tackled the roof's metal door with his shoulder like a NFL player. The group of four were all stunned by the sudden difference of light, and they all gazed around them to try and discover T-Dog's fate.<p>

They spotted a black man slumped against the pipe.

"T-Dog! T-Dog!" Mark worriedly called out.

"Ssh! You're gonna bring attention to us." Glenn adverted.

Lee jogged towards T-Dog, leaping over the three steps of stairs and another pipe in the way. Approaching the body, he saw the person intended. But he didn't show any signs of life, was drowning in sweat and he saw a pool of blood erupting from his wrist, that seemed to be half cut. What was more surprising was when he saw three cadavers of walkers surrounding them, but all of them were dead. Not undead, dead dead.

"T-Dog!" Lee said as he kneeled near the man and shook his shoulder. At first there wasn't no reaction. Lee gripped his armpits and pulled him upwards, to put him in a sitting position.

His eyes opened in a thin gap.

"L-Lee?" He asked, in a low, dry and hoarse voice.

"Yeah…yeah, it's me." Lee confirmed, as he glanced back at the group. "He's dehydrated beyond oblivion. Anyone got any water?!"

"No! We didn't bring anything." Rick told him, squatting near T-Dog.

"Man…man…they were…they…were so many…" He said, before he was forced to cough abruptly twice. Rick pulled out a pair of bolt-cutters he had borrowed from Dale and encased their blades around the cuffs.

"You seen Merle?!" Daryl inquired, regarding each corner of the roof but not seeing his brother.

"You mean that…that redneck, racist, hick motherfucka?" T-Dog teased. "No. I ain't seen his skinny…ass."

"Don't you talk about him that way!" Daryl menaced as he prepared to punch T-Dog, but Glenn intervened.

"C'mon, now's not the time." Glenn communicated with a certain dread, putting a friendly hand on his chest.

"Don't touch me, Chinese kid!" Daryl spat, slapping his palm away.

"I'm Korean." Glenn stated.

"Whatever." He hissed, twirling around and gazing at the landscape of a destroyed monopole.

"What happened to your hand?!" Glenn demanded with concern. The hand that chained Theodore to the pipe was half-severed, with blood gushing out and a rusty hacksaw on the ground.

"I…I tried to…tried to cut my hand…didn't work…I…had to…take out the walkers. Tough, but…" He explained, with a feeble smile. "I wasted every…single…son of a bitch."

"Don't worry. We're gonna get you back to camp." Rick reassured him, in a swift motion breaking apart the handcuffs.

"What about Merle?!" Daryl quizzed with impatience and frustration.

"If we don't find him on the way, we're going back without him!" Rick affirmed with disgust for that man known as Merle Dixon. "If you won't come with us, you're welcome to stay behind and search for him."

Mark and Lee wrapped T-Dog's arms around their necks, and then stood up to carry him. The group headed towards the door, wanting to get back as fast as possible.

* * *

><p>"Where the fuck is our van?!" Daryl yelled.<p>

After a fifteen minute jog – which tired everyone out and T-Dog seemed to be blacked out -, the group had reached their vehicle. At least, where they'd left it. They all stood, dumbstruck, looking at the empty space their truck once occupied.

"We left it right there! Right freaking there!" Mark declared, facepalming himself.

"Who could've taken it?" Glenn enquired into the air.

"Merle." Lee guessed in a hard and severe manner.

Daryl lowered his head as he was struck by sudden realization. "Merle's gonna be takin' vengeance back on the camp."

"What the hell do you mean by that?" Mark questioned him, his voice exhibiting that he was becoming a nervous wreck.

"Camp's gonna be attacked." Rick elucidated. "We gotta hurry!"

**. . .**

The interior of Ed's tent, which contained him, Carol, Sophia and Carol, wasn't a pretty sight. Ed laid on a mattress, boiling with anger on the inside and passive-aggressive on the outside. His right eye was swallowed and the area around the pupil was red, his temple and cheeks were mottled with yellow and purple bruises.

Katjaa tried to apply a bandage on him, but Ed whacked the hand away. "Geez, Ed, stay still!"

"Stop, woman! I'm fine!" Ed shouted. As he opened his mouth, a putrid breath reeking of alcohol and cigarettes penetrated the women's nostrils.

"Ed, sweetie, let her…" Carol essayed to convince him.

"No! Shut up! I didn't ask you anything." Ed hollered at her.

"Whatever. Bye, Ed." Katjaa concluded with a sigh, before he crawled out of the tent and zipping the tent closed behind her.

Carol exhaled. "Why don't you come out with everybody?"

"Hell with them people." Ed dissed in a muffled whisper. "Wouldn't piss on them if their heads were on fire."

Sophia got up and headed towards the exit, but Ed gripped her wrist. "Hey." Sophia spun around with an expression of fear stamped on her. "Why don't you stay here? Keep daddy company."

Carol gaped at Sophia and then glared at her husband. "Ed, she wants to join in." Carol tugged Sophia's sleeve toward the exit. "C'mon."

"Fine! To hell with both of you!" He hissed, reclining on his cot with sore bones. "Ain't no need to be bothering me no more for the rest of the night!"

* * *

><p>It had been perhaps a couple hours ever since Ed's family had left him, he could note it from the obscurity outside. Ed was effervescing with ager, fury, and he swore to himself that when he was better the first thing he would do was take a swig of whiskey, break Shane's face and punch Carol in the face. Perhaps slap Sophia too.<p>

Then, he heard some rustle outside. _Motherfuckin' cunt, I told them to leave me the fuck alone! _"Hey!" He screamed. "Get the fuck outta here! I don't wanna be disturbed."

But the noise persisted, until he spotted the person's shadow outside the tent. "I told you…leave me the fuck alone!"

Ed wriggled his way towards the door, and unzipped it. Fatal mistake. When he recognized who it was, it was too late. The female zombie standing outside, took advantage of Ed who was too dazzled to do anything, and lunged at him. She started distributing bites all over the crying Ed, slowly devouring him.

* * *

><p>After the sunset was starting to emerge, the group was gathered around a fire, sharing a good meal. Morales had gloated about his new invention: a wall of rocks around the fireplace to keep the flames high but invisible to walkers.<p>

"Seriously, Dale, thank God you have all this cooking equipment." Kenny praised, chewing a chunk of meat. "I don't know how we'd cook without it."

"I never leave home without my stuff. Never know when something might be useful out on the open road." Dale clarified with a smile.

"That reminds me, it's been like two weeks since we've been survivin' together, but I still don't know a damned thing about you folks." Kenny gave a speech. "Like you Dale. You just travelled?"

"Pretty much." Dale disclosed, as everybody heard cautiously. "I was a salesman for forty years, spent my days behind a desk and a phone. Eventually, I retired, and my wife and I bought a camper and went out to see America. We'd been on the road for two years when everything started. We were at a campsite about eighty miles south from here, coming back from Florida. The news hit us late, we didn't know a darn thing about what was happening. My wife…she never left that campsite."

"Oh my God, Dale…I'm so sorry…" Katjaa sorrowfully mourned.

Dale sighed and gazed at the grass. "After I buried her, I headed towards Atlanta. Had a couple of cousins there and they said it was the safest place nearby. Of course, when I got there the place had already been blocked off and the army was still trying to fight the hordes on the inside. I ended up here. On the way to Atlanta I found Andrea and Amy broke down, out of gas. I gave them a ride."

"Andrea was driving me back to college." Amy interrupted. "Classes were starting in a few days. I was a physical education major…a junior. As far away as I have lived, I just should've flown back but we always enjoyed our bonding trips."

"I was a clerk at a law firm." Andrea expounded. "That job is one of the few things I don't miss."

"Mechanic." Was the singled word that escaped Jim's mouth.

"I was a shoe salesman." Allen spoke, Billy being his lap and Ben on Donna's lap, although the survivors couldn't tell the difference. "I ran a store in the mall. It wasn't anything special but it paid the bills…well, most of them anyway. We lived up in Gainesville, it's about fifty miles from here. Just like everyone else here, we came into Atlanta a little late."

"Glenn, Dale, and the girls already had set up camp when we got here." Donna participated in the conversation. "Our car broke down the way and we walked here…piece of junk never worked."

The group stared at Shane, who was curled eating his meal quietly. "Y'all know me." Shane grunted in a grumpy voice. "Small town cop, friend of Rick."

"Well, I...I worked as an IT technician." Doug confessed, scratching his hair. "I did a lot of tech stuff there. If you guys gave me a TV remote, I could probably interact with any TV out there. A few months back, I came here to live with my uncle. When everything starting going down, I met Carley along the way, and we hiked all the way here." Doug swallowed a hunk of food. "Sure miss my robots…"

"Yeah. Before, I was a reporter." Carley talked loudly, setting her vacant plate on the floor next to her.

"Y'know, I think I saw you on TV once." Amy observed with a narrowed, curious eyebrow.

"Maybe." Carley chuckled, before continuing. "Anyways, I actually saw a buncha war-zones before. I went all over, voyaging where ever the latest news called me. One day, me and my production crew were covering the Cherry Blossom Festival. That's when shit hit the fan. I…I saw my boss get eaten in front of me. She was an asshole, but…you know. I would've been zombie chow if it weren't for Doug who came to the rescue."

Doug blushed. "C'mon. It was nothing."

"Me and my dad actually lived in Atlanta." Lilly told the group, creating murmurs and awes. "My dad has his heart condition, and I lived across the street in case he had a crisis. I worked at Robin Air Force Base. It wasn't all action-packed as you all might think. It was actually pretty monotonous. Me and my dad had just bought pills for him when everything went to chaos. The military was harboring people then, but we called bullshit on it, and decided to hide in the country side instead. I don't regret it. After a couple days we stumbled across this place."

"I worked in the city's zoning department." Jacqui disclosed. "When the walkers came, me and my two brothers met and we got the hell out of Atlanta. It was easy to orient, I know every inch of that darned city. My two brothers got…" Jacqui cleared her throat. "They got…mauled in front of me. I was holed up when Glenn found me on one of his scavenging runs and escorted be back here."

"When all of it started, it was actually just an ordinary day." Morales revealed, swallowing his food before starting his backstory. "I worked as a civil construction employee. Miranda stayed at home. We were having dinner after my kids, Louis and Eliza, got home. We started hearing gunshots and moaning and stuff. When I figured out what was happening, we immediately hoped in the station wagon and drove into the woods. I found this place when there weren't even tents set up."

"Well, you guys know me." Kenny conveyed with his bulky voice, him being the last remaining story-teller. "I'm your typical man from Florida. I fished for a living. Mackerel, snapper, you name it. One time, I had an octopus that was sick and I took it to the vet. There I met Katjaa. She fixed up the octopus back to its healthiest state. My family and I visited Kat's sister who lived in Memphis, and we were getting back home when everything went to shit. Were lucky as hell to find this place."

There was a long silence after his tale, in which the only noises were the crisps of the fire and the cricket's chant.

"Well…" Amy broke the ice, as he rose on her feet whilst her knee bones cracked. "I gotta go pee."

Amy brushed past all of the used plastic plates and the people, as she ambled towards the RV. "Anyone need anything while I'm at -"

Without warning, a walker appeared from behind the RV, devastating the calm ambience of the night. This one was entirely bald, wore a sleeveless t-shirt and striped pants. He lurked from behind Amy, and embraced its claws around her arms. He opened his jaws out wide, and bit Amy viciously on her shoulder. She let out an alarming and deafening scream, before the walker tossed his head backwards and ripped off a huge chunk of her flesh, so big that the bone was nearly showing.

"AMY, NO!" Andrea shouted, as she dived onto her feet and sprinted towards her sister.

The next second, chaos instilled itself among the survivors. In the horizon, they could see the lingering shadows of an imminent horde, dragging themselves towards them. Allen and Donna clutched their kids in their arms to protect them. Jim was the first who pulled out a wrench and bashed in the head of the closest lurker.

"Watch out! Incoming!" Jim alerted the camp.

Morales bowed with his chest and picked up a baseball bat from the ground. He then walked towards the frontlines of the battle and collided his weapon with a male biter's cranium. The head was separated from its spinal cord, causing its head to fly a few feet away like Morales had made a homerun.

Lilly gasped when she spotted a zombie creeping its way towards her father. Her brain ran a mile, and the only solution she saw was to grasp the knife she had utilized to eat and faced the undead being. She stabbed in the head, and was surprised how easy it was to penetrate its rotten noggin. It was soft as a banana.

"Katjaa! Get Duck somewhere safe!" Kenny ordered to his wife.

"Andrea!" Dale called out.

Seeing that Andrea and Amy were in trouble, Dale arranged his rifle for shooting, and ran towards the nearly twin girls as fast as his old skeleton could take him.

"She…she…she" Andrea stuttered, kneeled over the fountain of gore that was now her sister.

Dale scooted by her side and covered the hole of the wound with his massive hands. But it didn't take him long to realize that Amy's life had already vanished away. "She's gone Andrea." Dale asserted in a sad tone. He slid his hand around her neck and let her cry into his shoulder.

"Fuck!" Jim shouted as a walker managed to drape its dead fingers around his elbow.

But out of nowhere, a saving bullet slashed the air and went through the zombie's skull. Its inanimate corpse collapsed on the floor, and its blood was splattered on Jim's shirt. He barely had time to breathe before he acknowledged Lee's group coming to save the day.

Kenny, who was so distracted with Lee's arrival, didn't even notice the sneaky zombie that was about to ambush his wife and son. "Thank God they're here!"

"KENNY!"

Kenny spun around in pure fear, when he felt a goose bump and sensed his whole body frozen. He saw his wife and kid, both pinned down to the floor by a walker wearing a highschool jacket.

"No!" Kenny hollered, as he dashed towards his family. Although somewhere deep in his mind, he knew he would arrive too late.

However, a gunshot erupted through the air, piercing the zombie's skull and throwing its dead body to the side.

"My God Kat! You okay?!" Kenny asked as he helped his family up. The two people didn't respond; too scared and with an enormous lump in their throat.

Lee appeared, his Glock 17's barrel smoking. "Get your family somewhere safe, Kenny!"

"My God, Lee…thank you so much." He thanked, latching onto his family with a hug. "I'll never forget this."

Lee watched as Kenny departed with his family to someplace safe. He turned around, to see if there was someone else in need of aid, and what he saw would change him forever.

To his left, Doug was being pushed by walker towards a tree. His hands were gripping the walker's face, essaying to keep its teeth distant from Doug's face. His girly screams and arm shaking showed that he wasn't going to hold much longer.

To Lee's right, Carley had fallen. She was being clenched by the ankle by the dead palm of a walker, and she was trying to crawl towards a gun, that was posited just a few centimeters away from her fingers.

Lee rose his gun in front of him. It was the time to make a choice. This decisive moment would be based on whether he aimed to the left or to the right.

**[SAVE DOUG] **or **[SAVE CARLEY]**

**A/N: Decision time! Who will survive? You decide! Well guys, the next chapter will be the end of this arc. I await eagerly for your decision and I'll see y'all in the next chapter.**


	14. Chapter 14 - Let The Credits Roll

**The Walking Dead: A New Day Gone Bye**

**Chapter 13 – Let The Credits Roll**

**80% of readers chose to save Carley**

**20% of readers chose to save Doug**

Lee sensed the articulations of his arm moving to the right. He didn't feel like he was himself; he felt his trigger finger being remotely controlled like he was a robot.

The notch of his gun aligned with the rotten skull of the zombie that was attacking Carley. He wasn't sure if he was going to hit. After all, he had never shot a gun before and he knew that guns had a strong knockback. Taking a leap of faith, he pressed the trigger.

The gun barked and Lee felt his hearing being cleaved by an arrow. His ears became instantly deaf and the muzzle nearly blinded him. He bent in two and grunted, as he clouted one of his ears with his palm and let the revolver slide down his fingers and fall onto the ground. Gradually, he rose his head, and was more than happy to see that the walker had died, and Carley was now picking up her weapon and standing up.

He jogged towards the woman, his head seemed to whirl around in a dazzling manner like a merry-go-round. "Where is Clementine?! Have you seen her?!"

"I think…I think she went back to your tent!" Carley stated, panting.

Lee looked back at Glenn and Mark. "Get T-Dog somewhere safe!"

Carley peeked around her, surveying the zone for nearby lurkers when her eye-sight locked on the horizon. "Doug!"

Lee turned around, the dread slowly instilling itself down his spine. It was only more intensified by the fact he could barely hear his own voice from the pulsatile ringing in his brain. Ten meters away, Doug was starting to give in and the zombie's teeth were nearing his neck.

"I GOT HIM!" Jim intervened.

Wrench equipped, the old mechanic stepped in, bashing a kick into the zombie that was attacking Doug. If it were alive, it would've probably passed out, because the strength had been enough to break all of its ribs.

The biter slumped on the ground with a loud thud. Jim hoped on top of it quickly, and elevated his wrench in the air. He clashed the metal tool against its jaw, completely obliterating it and sending it flying in the air like a boomerang. A cluster of black goo spilled onto Jim's marked and elderly face, onto his balding hair and his shirt drenched in sweat.

"My family! MY FAMILY!" Jim cried, applying more strikes onto the zombie's face. Doug stood, teary eyed, against the tree and viewing with tremble legs as Jim beat the walker up. "YOU KILLED THEM!"

Shane cocked once again his powerful shotgun, detaching a smoking shell into the air. He looked around in the chaos around him, and spotted a walker heading for Carol, who was curled into a ball and latching onto Sophia. He aimed at it and fired a devastating round, that destroyed its skull cleanly. It fell to the side, its cranium turned into a bowl of brains and bleeding arteries tainting the beryl grass.

Dale shook Andrea's shoulder, making sure no walkers were bound to get them. "C'mon, let's go inside! It's a mess out here." But his words were to no avail as Andrea was frozen in place.

Lee wiped the sweat off his forehead, seeing Doug was safe and sound. But he had a more urgent quest. He ran towards the multitude of tents, heading toward his.

Just as he arrived, he perceived three walkers scratching the tissue, shredding the tent to pieces to get inside. Among their grunting and moaning, he could listen to high-pitched screams emitting from the interior. He had to save Clementine; he had become fond of that little girl.

"Get off her!" Lee howled.

The lurkers ignored him and continued to wriggle their way inside. Lee searched around him for a melee weapon; wanting to spare his bullets. He paced towards another tent and removed one of the spikes holding it to the ground.

He sprinted towards the nearest walker, and with a war cry, he leaped onto it and bulldozed the spike into its brain. He went lights out like Lee had pressed a secret interrupter, but his action caught the attention of the other two. He lifted his right arm and shot between the eyes of the bald zombie, forgetting the pain of the recoil. He then swooped the spike in the direction of the second lurker, impaling the spike through its eye socket.

Lee squatted, as the two figures collapsed behind him after being slayed. Lee unzipped the entrance in a hurry.

A silhouette on the inside dived on top of him.

"Lee!" Clementine screeched, squeezing his neck.

"Hey, hey…" Lee replied with a wide smirk, returning the hug. He could almost ignore the animalistic sounds and the gunfire on the background that was starting to cease. "There, there…all's okay."

"I…I was so scared…" She sobbed. "There…there were so many of them…they just…came out of nowhere."

"Don't worry." Lee reasserted her, as he got up and clenched her hand. "Everything's fine now."

In the next second, a heavy silence crumpled among the survivors. They stood silent, enumerating their losses, contemplating the tide of fallen walkers. The only sounds were the smoke exiting the arsenal's barrels, heavy breathing and Andrea's crying.

Kenny placed a hand on Jim's shoulder, which caused him to stop smacking the zombie's skull, that was so triturated it resembled mashed potatoes. "It's over Jim." He sadly said.

"That…that monster…it killed my family…!" Jim told him, as he got up and cleaned the tears straining down his cheeks.

"Lori!" Rick called out.

Like the day they had met, Rick dashed madly towards his wife and clutched her and his son Carl in a tightened hug. "Rick! You…you saved us…I…I…"

"Ssh, shh…it's okay." Rick soothed her, stroking her ebony hair. "We found T-Dog. They're all dead. Everything's alright."

Mark and Glenn appeared in the scene, Mark nervously scratching his forearm. "We got T-Dog in the RV. Let him rest." Glenn awkwardly affirmed.

But in Rick's strong shoulder, Lori spotted something nobody did. Mark's sleeve was soaked in blood, drips of it pouring down of it. And in a quick glimpse, she saw a bite mark around his wrist. It looked like a circle of tiny cuts.

"Oh my God!" Lori gasped, catching everyone's attention and throwing all eyes towards Mark. "Mark! You've been bitten."

"What? What?" Mark inquired, his forehead sweating violently as his voice stuttered. "It's…it's not true! It's just a scratch!"

"Then show us!" Jacqui ordered.

The frightened crowd gazed at Mark in fear and in a strong anxiety. Mark gulped, he was out of options. He stared at his feet as he felt terrified to the point he almost lost control of his bladder. When he pulled up his sleeve, he revealed his wrist, that had been almost totally ripped off and was bleeding heavily. Mark shook and became pale from the blood loss, the cold temperature and the shock.

"S-see? J-just a scratch?" Mark stammered.

* * *

><p>The next day wasn't a happy one. The precipitation of snow had gotten worse, the land being painted in a thick layer of ice. Morales, Allen and Jim had a lot of difficulty in digging the necessary graves, which were used for Ed and Amy. The only people that gathered around Ed's grave were Carol and Sophia, who didn't even cry no more. The rest of the group, however, mourned over Amy. Especially Andrea, who was kneeled right next to the cross in which her name was written. She had stopped crying, but she was closed in herself and her eyes were red like tomatoes.<p>

It was even worst whenever someone looked at Mark. He had become paler and trembled all the time. His injury had been nursed with a rag, but they all knew that he was done for. The families, such as Lee and Clementine (they could be considered as family) shared a blanket to keep themselves warmer. The wind blew like it was whistling.

Even T-Dog had found the strength to come.

"She always had something to say." Shane spoke, his breath converting into vapor. "That's one thing I loved about Amy. When we were all shook up…or too preoccupied…she said something. She made us laugh. Lightened up the mood. No matter what. I…I wish she was here now."

"We may have not gotten along, but I loved her. I love everyone here." Donna now expressed, hugging her kids and her husband. "We all lean on each other, need each other. This is hard on us all, but she seemed to take it in stride. We could all learn something from her."

"She was a pretty girl. Smart too." Jim said in a kind way. "She shoulda been going to college…living her life…being young…being happy…this should've never have happened…she didn't deserve this…nobody deserves this."

All eyes fell upon Jim, who had finished his speech and regarded the ground in grief. Morales and his family did a quiet prier. "_En nombre del Padre, del Hijo , del Espíritu Santo_. Amen." Morales blessed.

"Amen." Everybody chanted.

"She came into my life at a time I was ready to die." Dale added, standing close to Andrea. "I'll never be able to thank her. She gave me the will to live."

"We'll all miss her. Let her soul rest in peace." Rick voiced this time around.

One by one, the different members of the group began turning around, marching back to camp in their desperate situation. Rick halted when he saw Andrea was staying back and not coming along. "Andrea?"

His call had no response. He decided that perhaps it was best to let her say her proper goodbyes. Before leaving, Daryl approached the grave and tossed a flower on it.

"Hey Lee. Got a sec'?" Carley quizzed Lee.

Lee pulled Clementine closer to him for warmth, like they were penguins. "Yeah. What's up?"

"Back when the walkers attacked…me and Doug…we were both in trouble." She muttered. "You picked me. Why?"

Lee stayed silent for a few seconds. "I didn't pick you. It was an instinct. I was gonna save you both. Thankfully Jim arrived in time."

"But you helped me first." She recalled.

"I did."

"I just think it'd be best if you checked on Doug." She advised. "Make sure he's taking it well and if he's on good terms with you."

"I will. Thanks, Carley." He thanked.

"You're welcome." She flatly said.

"C'mon, let's go back. Are you okay?" Lee enquired, gaping down at Clementine's small figure.

"I liked Amy." She whispered briefly.

"So did I, Clem. But don't worry. I won't let the same happen to you." Lee reassured her.

* * *

><p>"Are you okay? Do you need more blankets?" Katjaa asked Mark, who was cuddled in his cot inside his tent. His eyes had developed signs of fatigue, he was drowning in sweat and his voice was feeble.<p>

"No, no…I'm fine…" Mark murmured in a dragged breath.

"This should cool your face a little." Katjaa said as she deposited a wet rag on Mark's forehead.

"Thanks…" He muttered, barely cracking a grin. "One of the pilots back at Robin's…first guy I saw turn. When he was attacked, he turned within a few hours. No one survives past a day…not after being bitten…"

"Maybe you're lucky…" Katjaa tried to comfort him, although she felt extremely pessimist. "Maybe you won't turn. Nobody knows anything for sure."

"Yeah…" Mark sarcastically maintained, sparing his forces.

Katjaa headed towards the exit in a crawl. "If you need anything, just give us a yell. Someone will come get me if I don't hear."

Katjaa got on her feet as she zipped the tent behind her. She compressed the scarf around her neck, and approached Lee, Kenny and Allen who waited outside.

"How is he hon'?" Kenny questioned, taking a step forward.

"Worse." She affirmed.

Lee sighed, squeezing his nose bridge in frustration. "How much time has he?"

"If what Dale said about his wife was true, he hasn't got long to live." Katjaa conjectured with a sorrowful expression. "He told us his wife turned in half a day. Mark's going through the same, but it's taking longer. He says his whole body is freezing, but if you touch him you'll burn your hand!"

"You did all you could Katjaa…" Kenny lowly encouraged, pulling her in for a hug.

"I'm gonna go relieve Morales." Allen told Lee, turning around and strolling toward the RV. "Morales' been keeping watch for a while."

Kenny gradually detached from Katjaa. "Go on and check on Duck. I'll be right behind you."

Katjaa twirled in the opposite direction, and departed towards the set of tents, stepping on the snowflakes that crunched with each step. Kenny smiled as he watched her, before he paced towards Lee and lent him a hand.

"I never properly thanked you for saving my family." Kenny elaborated. Lee arched his arm and shook Kenny's hand with a firm grip.

"Think nothing of it." He modestly said. "We look out for each other, don't we?"

"We do." Kenny agreed with a nod, before his expression exchanged from friendly to a more funereal one. Lee know he was going to do or say something that would be shocking. "Look, Lee…back in that attack…you saved my family…they're breathing in this moment here because of you. Only that earns you a place on my book."

"A place on what?" Lee repeated in a confused tone. "I don't think I'm followin'."

"Look, I think it's pretty obvious, but our situation is very precarious here." Kenny elucidated, Lee frowning an eyebrow in anticipation. "This place ain't safe, and the military ain't rollin' through like Shane imagines. Nah, I've given up on that idea a while ago. We need to get off the mainland."

"Get to the point, Ken."

"If you want, you can leave with us." Kenny finally confessed. Lee rose his eyebrows in disbelief and waved the wriggles in his forehead. "We can head towards some city near water. Get a boat for us. It'll be safer for us to be on open water than out here. If you want, you can also bring Clementine with you. Perhaps someone else you care about."

"Look, Ken…don't get me wrong…but this is a bit too much for me to digest at the moment." Lee professed, passing a hand through his wooly hair.

Kenny was silent for a few seconds. "Of course. Think about it, sleep on it. But I can clearly see my family ain't safe here. I'm not sure if I want to stay for much longer. Make your mind up if you wanna join in."

* * *

><p>Lee stormed inside the RV, having a purpose in mind. Kenny's proposal lingered in the back of his mind. In his perception, Kenny was an honest, hard-working, loyal man. To him it seemed he liked everyone in the camp. But he could recognize his wish to keep his family safe no matter what. And he knew that if he was making the decision to leave, it was for the well-being of his family.<p>

"Doug? You here?" Lee catechized, shutting the door behind him. As he walked around the corner of the vintage RV, he spotted Doug reading a book on the table. He hoisted his nerdy eyes towards Lee.

"Oh Lee…" He greeted.

"I'm not interrupting your lecture, am I?" He asked, halting dead on his tracks.

"Oh no, absolutely not." He guaranteed in an embarrassed tone, dropping the book on the table. "I wasn't even concentrated enough to get past the first page."

Lee approached the chair parallel to him. "Mind if I sit?"

"Go ahead." He sputtered, avoiding eye contact.

Lee dropped his ass on the chair. "So, Doug…how you holdin' up?"

"F-fine, I guess…" He alleged, in a lying and non-convincing voice. "It's…scary to think I nearly lost my life…y'know…like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel…"

"I know that feeling…" He concurred, his brains flushing with memories of when he fell off his horse in Atlanta and had been almost devoured by that horde if it hadn't been for Glenn.

"I just…feel bad for Mark. He's such a good guy." Doug admitted, scrubbing his eye.

"Me too." Lee nodded. "Look, Doug…I came here to talk to you. Yesterday, back in the attack, I was confronted with a difficult choice. To help Carley or you. I chose Carley, but not over preference or anything. It was merely an instinct, an impulse, a spur of the moment. I just wanna check that there are no hard-feelings."

"Yeah, don't worry. No hard-feelings." Doug mumbled. "Don't, uh…I actually preferred you picked her. I would've felt guilty if she had died."

"Okay. Well, Doug, I'm gonna go." Lee concluded, as he got up and patted Doug's shoulder. "Stay strong there, bud. We're here for you. I now gotta go meet up with Rick, Shane and Carl. A hunting trip awaits us."

* * *

><p>After they were all equipped with rifles, Lee, Rick, Shane – accompanied by little apprentice Carl – they all headed into the woods. The foggy environment made it harder than usual to see animals, and they didn't have their hopes up.<p>

"We're not having much luck, are we?" Lee groaned, scoping the trees for animals.

"We don't have to get as much as usual. Amy's dead and Mark's too sick to eat." Carl coldly specified.

"I know, Carl…I know…" Rick rumbled, wanting to change the subject.

"GODDAMMIT RICK!" Shane unexpectedly yelled, making Lee flinch a little. "It isn't my fuckin' fault!"

"Like hell it isn't!" Rick stepped right in front of Shane in a hostile manner, almost jabbing his finger up Shane's eyes. "I told you this was going to happen! We're not safe here! How many more people have to die before you realize that?!"

"Wow, guys, let's take a step back on…"

"If I thought we could survive on our own I'd take Carl and Lori and leave the rest of you here!" Rick hissed in Shane's face, muffling Lee's intervention. "We need to get outta here Shane! Let's siphon what little we have from them cars and put it into Dale's camper and go! Today! Right now! Let's just get away from the city, find someplace safe!"

"Think Rick!" Shane reciprocated, bolting his finger on his temple to illustrate his argument. "We'll be lost out there. The army is going to drive through here any day now with supplies and shelter and all this will just go away! I don't want to risk being out on the country! I don't want to risk being left behind!"

"What are you basing that on?!" Rick demanded. Lee paced forward to essay to stop the discussion, but failed once again. "What indication do we have that we're not the only survivors?! What was that attack on the camp?! We know nothing about them! We're not safe."

Just when Rick finished arguing, Rick twitched his head around and saw Carl with his cheeks streaming of tears, escaping back to camp. "Carl!" He called him, before he chased him.

Lee sighed and buried his face in his palm. The group's tension was rising by the moment, and he was afraid that the contents under pressure could pop at any moment.

* * *

><p>Lee returned back to camp. To be honest, he wasn't feeling so good. Not only because of the cold, but all of the bad things happening at the same time. The ambience around him was really phasing him.<p>

"Lee!" Clementine exclaimed, approaching her guardian and clinging onto his hand.

"Hey there sweetie." He said without any emotion.

"Morales was looking for you." She informed him.

Lee nodded in comprehension. He strolled towards the RV, where he perceived Morales with his arms crossed, while Mark was being hauled by Jim and Daryl. "My God…he die?"

"No…" Morales professed, facing Lee. "He told us his last dying wish was for us to leave him leaned up against a tree."

"What?!"

"Yeah…we decided to do it, because…well, we couldn't deny the man his last wish." Morales disclosed.

"I'll talk to him." Lee clarified, before he peaked at Clementine. "Are you sure you want to see Mark? It might be a scary picture."

"It's okay."

With that answer, Lee penetrated Atlanta's niveous forest, where he saw Jim and Daryl positing Mark among the trees. "Mark. I've heard that you wanted to be left out here. Is that correct?"

"Please, Lee…I won't be talked out of it…" Mark beseeched, his skin paler than the snow and his voice almost imperceptible with the bad weather. "I just…want peace…for this to finish."

"Okay…" Lee stuttered, the lump in his throat began growing. He blinked heavily when he felt a tear falling down his cheek. "Thanks for everything Mark…goodbye…"

Lee and Clementine turned around and abandoned the scene. Jim soon followed, and Daryl threw at Mark a nod of pure respect. As Mark saw the three men depart, he looked towards the sky. And only then, as the snow froze his entire body, the infection turned his bones into glass, his eyeballs carrying tons of tears and the lump in his throat, he noticed how the sky was so beautiful. In its diamond and cyan nuances, hidden by the broad clouds.

He finally felt at peace.

* * *

><p><em>Grief never ends…but it changes. It's a passage, not a place to stay. Grief is not a sign of weakness, nor a lack of faith. It's the price of love.<em>

A few minutes later, little did the survivors know that utopia was going to break apart.

Rick stomped the snow on his way towards Shane. "We need to talk Shane."

"Talk about what?" He grunted, pretending to be a fool.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK?!"

That moment, those exact words, created a click inside Shane's mind. A snap. He was invaded by an array of emotions, that pierced his very heart. Grief, sorrow, jealousy, everything. Those feelings were the things that drove Shane's fist onto Rick's face.

Rick staggered backwards, as a trail of blood ejaculated out of his mouth. "IT WASN'T MY MOTHERFUCKIN' FAULT!" Shane howled, at the top of his lungs so loud the entire camp jumped in fright.

"You son of a bitch!" Lori insulted, as she scratched Shane's face with her sharp nails.

Shane screamed, as he took a few steps back and involved the two scratches with his palm. Lori approached Rick and held him in her arms. "Stay away from him!"

What the hell was he doing? Everybody was incredulously staring at him. Why didn't Lori love him? After all he had done for her and Carl…she was so ungrateful that it broke Shane's heart like he had been stabbed with a dagger. Now there was only an empty space inside him. An empty space and pure rage for Rick.

He behold the massive crowd. Dozens of acquainted faces looking at him like he was some kind of monster. The shame was too much, and a river of tears began blurting out of his eyes.

"Fuck this!" He clamored, as he spun around and thundered towards the woods.

Rick sighed, feeling the inside of his cranium full of tears. "Shane, wait!" He yelped, still having concern for his friend before he followed Shane. Lori collapsed onto her knees on the snow, sobbing heavily.

Carol, Donna and Katjaa came to her aid. "Lori, sweetie, what's wrong?" Donna inquired, trying to calm her down.

"What's happening to us…?" Lori rhetorically asked. "It's never going to be the same…just look at us…"

Rick brushed past all of the foliage, just as he was catching up to Shane. He could predict that his face was a terrible mess of tears and snot. "Shane! Stop! Stop!" Rick instructed loudly like a sergeant shouting orders to his soldiers.

"WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" Shane hollered in an angry tone. Rick was beyond than shocked when Shane raised his rifle towards him like a madman. "You come to rip my heart right out of my chest!?"

"Shane, Jesus, what are you talking about?!" Rick demanded, putting his hands in the air and speaking in a more cautious tone. "Be careful with that thing!"

"GO AHEAD AND RIP IT OUT!" Shane conveyed, his large jaw opening out wide as he mouthed his phrases. He wrapped his fingers around the area of his heart. "I don't fucking need it anymore! Take it! TAKE IT!"

"Shane, can you…please just lower the gun?!" Rick pleaded, but Shane firmly kept the gun in place.

"Oh, you really did it for me buddy!" He blamed him, his volume scaring a batch of crows away. "Yes you did it! Oh, you really did it! I'M NOTHING NOW RICK! NOTHING! I'VE GOT NOTHING RICK! NO FRIENDS! NO FAMILY! NO RESPECT! NO FUCKING LIFE! THIS FUCKIN WORLD! THIS FUCKING GOD-FORSAKEN FUCKING WORLD OF SHIT! THERE'S NOTHING FOR ME RICK! NOTHING! I thought I could make it! I thought I could hold out until they rescued us…they would've brought us nice beds! Hot showers! Everything would then be okay! They were coming Rick!"

"We still are Shane! We're gonna be fine!" Rick assured him, always careful not to do any sudden moves.

"I can't live like this Rick!" Shane acknowledged, in his usual furious and pity tone. "I thought I could, but I can't! I thought I could…and I did. Everything was going so good. She would have come around eventually…I know it…she would have…" His voice was becoming calmer and more suave by the moment, but the gun still fiddling in his fingers.

"What?"

"Everything was so perfect…" Shane sobbed, hiccupping and sniffling. But his fury came back, and he tilted his gun again towards Rick. "Until you came back!"

"Shane, don't…please, don't do this…!" Rick begged, hoping that Shane would still have the humanity to not shoot him.

"No Rick! This is the only way!" Shane argued, readying himself to fire. "This is what has to happen…you weren't meant to came back…you weren't meant to live!"

A gunshot rang out. Rick flinched in his place, but then he noticed that he had not been shot. He twisted his head upwards, standing in his straight posture, and saw that a bullet had gone through Shane's neck. His eyelids opened to an erratic pattern, before he gurgled as he drowned in his own blood. Shane's dead body lost life as his spirit left his cadaver.

"Don't hurt my daddy again!" Carl roared with tears piling up in his eyes, as his Glock 17 had its barrel smoking.

Carl let go of the gun, and sprinted towards Rick. They locked each other in a very tight hug, as Shane's drenched corpse collided with the floor. "Oh son…"

"It's not like killing the dead ones, daddy…" Carl revealed, sniffing with the anguish of having murdered a living person.

"It never should be, son…it never should be…"

After Rick had finished that sentence, Lee came storming in, slowly assimilating the scene of what had happened. He stood, immobile in his place like a statue, with his jaw dropped and his eyelids extended. "Oh my God…"

* * *

><p><strong><em>NEXT TIME ON THE WALKING DEAD...<em>**

**.**

** "****Morgan." Rick spoke into his walkie-talkie. "I don't if you hear me out there. But if you still aren't dead…pay attention to what I'm about to say. Don't go to Atlanta. It was a lie. Place's overrun. Military's fallen. It's a death trap. My group and I are going away. We're heading towards the CDC. I wish you luck."**

* * *

><p><strong>Everybody piled up inside their vehicles, Dale's RV being the one that was almost fully crammed. "Let's go guys. Don't look back." Lee told everyone, as the engines roared back to life.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong> "<strong>**Why did Shane do that?" Clementine asked.**

** "****It's complicated, sweet pea." Lee explained. "Shane had his motives. He thought that he had nothing to live for. The way he felt led him into making a mistake. It just happened to have cost his life."**

* * *

><p><strong> "<strong>**We need to find food, Lee. Soon." Kenny warned.**

* * *

><p><strong> "<strong>**Hi! I'm Andrew St. John, and this here is my brother Danny." The two strangers introduced themselves.**

* * *

><p><strong> "<strong>**It's beautiful." Rick praised the landscape of the dairy.**

* * *

><p><strong> "<strong>**You don't fuck with us!" A voice shouted from the woods, before arrows began raining on Lee and his comrade.**

* * *

><p><strong> "<strong>**I'm pregnant Rick." Lori told her husband.**

* * *

><p><strong> "<strong>**Oh shit!" Daryl hollered, facing the shocking revelation. He twirled around and ran back to the group in a hurry. He had to warn them.**

* * *

><p><strong> "<strong>**Don't…eat…dinner…"**

* * *

><p><strong> "<strong>**I'm opening those doors for you. You're grateful to me now. A day will come in which you won't."**

* * *

><p><strong>The many members of the group were crouching behind improvised cover, as the incoming bandits poured a wave of bullets on top of them.<strong>

** "****GIVE UP THIS PLACE OR YOU DIE!" The leader yelled.**

**Kenny shoved a rifle into Lee's arms. "Quick. Take this and cover our people. I'ma gon' start up the RV!"**

* * *

><p><strong>THE WALKING DEAD<strong>

**VOLUME/SEASON/EPISODE 2 – STARVED MILES**

**COMING SOON**

**A/N: So, guys, as you can see this arc of the story is concluded. I'm quite happy about how it turned out, and I hope you enjoyed it as well. I would like to thank all of you for your support, you guys have been awesome! There might be a break now for me to plan the rest, but I left you this trailer to keep you guys wondering. See you next time!**


	15. Chapter 15 - May We Meet Again

**The Walking Dead: A New Day Gone Bye**

**Chapter 15 – May We Meet Again**

Rick was crouching, looking at the horizon. The landscape seemed all together a snow globe; the planet was covered in its usual bleak, crystal-clear ice layer. In the small hill in which he stood, he could see all of the members of the group, functioning in a babelism of packing bags and tossing them onto their vehicles, the whole a camp a monopoly of little ants preparing to migrate.

Rick neared his walkie-talkie close to his mouth. With his free hand – that wielded his wedding ring – he adjusted his fur coat that kept him sheltered from the wintry weather. He sighed a puff of smoke into the air, before he spoke into the device.

"Morgan." He said. His voice was reflective, suave, and there was a long paused between each word. "I have, uh…I'm startin' to think that…maybe you're not at that end anymore. I dunno. But in the case of, in some blind hope you pick this up, hear me through. Atlanta, it's a lie. A death trap. The army has fallen. They're not saving people. It's anarchy over here, each man for himself. Me and my group, we ain't staying here. If you want to meet with us, head towards the CDC. That's where we're going. Good luck, Morgan. May we meet again."

Rick took a deep breath, before he disconnected himself from the radio. He scrubbed with strength his tired eyes. He hadn't gotten sleep in days, ever since the incident with Shane. This new world…it was something more horrific than he could imagine. At first he thought that people would deal with it, eventually get used to the apocalypse. But the fact that his own best friend, Shane, tried to kill him because he was in mad love for Lori, it was more than enough evidence to prove Rick that this world changes people.

He couldn't trust anyone.

* * *

><p>Lee erratically checked the barrel of his revolver. He popped out the cylinder to check the ammo, as his skin shook violently and his teeth battered against each other. When he spotted five out of six bullets on the inside, he set the weapon straight and ready to fire.<p>

"Are you ready, Clem?" Lee muttered. It was too cold for him to speak normally.

Clem was sitting at the entrance of the camper, rummaging from her pink backpack. "I think I have everything."

"Get inside then." Lee instructed flatly, gazing at all of the people moving around from one place or another. "It's warmer inside."

Clem obeyed with an ahem and a nod, before she stormed inside the RV. Lee glanced at the small mounds of snowy dirt in the distance, harbored by an array of trees. He saw Rick, who was squatted and talking all alone into his walkie-talkie. Lee himself posed the same question now and then: how were Morgan and Duane doing? But he had so many things to think about that he didn't have the time nor the patience to dwell on it.

"Hey Lee." T-Dog greeted. He was limping, helping himself with a long stick he utilized as a cane. That imagery reminded of Lee's dad's cane, which he used to 'whoop shoplifters' as he put it.

"Hello T-Dog." Lee replied. "You comin' in the RV with us?"

"Yeah. Every other place is already taken." T-Dog implied, leaning against the camper.

"I suppose you were already told what happened yesterday?" Lee inquired, with an arched eyebrow.

"Yep." T-Dog assented, with a vapory exhale. "I still can't believe. Shane, he, uh…he pulled his weight around here. He hunted, protected us from walkers...it's just difficult to believe that he was the same person who drew on Rick."

"It's crazy, uh? This world, man…it does things to people." Lee observed in a savant manner. "We never saw it coming. We're in bigger shit than we imagined."

"Yeah, we are." T-Dog agreed, before he headed towards the door and opened it. "I'm a gonna get inside. Cold as all hell in here."

* * *

><p>At the same time that everybody were packing their bags for the long trip awaiting them, Lori was the only one who hanged behind at Shane's grave. She was in a reserved stance, with her legs perfectly joined together and her two arms folded over her stomach.<p>

She rose her head, and in a quick and dishonored action, she spat on Shane's grave, the saliva landing right on top of the wooden cross. "Son of a bitch!" She dissed with a furious voice; her angry expression wicked like the devil.

* * *

><p>Rick stored his walkie-talkie back in his pocket, and scoured with his hand his scratchy stubble and his annoying sideburns. He got up and headed towards the crowd of people. Even though Shane had essayed to kill him, the grief was still corroding him from the inside out. Over the last day, he had barely cracked a smile and was more distant from his family.<p>

He got up, sniffing with his frozen nose, and headed back towards the group. Lee and Rick had called a meeting by the RV, in which all of the members would gather and they would give out instructions on what they would do next.

Rick walked towards Dale, who was coming out of the RV. He nodded at Lee in a salute. "How's Andrea doing?"

"Better…but it's going to be a long while before she goes back to normal." Dale asseverated with his ponderous voice.

"Dale…when are any of us going back to normal?" Rick asked in an inquisitive and depressed tone.

"After yesterday? Probably never." Dale snorted. "Speaking of which…I ain't saying this to tell you I told you so, but I saw this coming. Shane had been charging at you ever since you arrived. I think he was in love with your wife."

"I know." Rick snitched, assimilating the hard, tough truth with shuttered eyes. "The things he was rambling about before he tried to shoot me…it all makes sense."

"Yeah…but what I'm getting at was that everyone at camp was starting to get wary of Shane." Dale confided, placing an old and wise hand on Rick's shoulder. "The attacks, Amy, Mark…we are ready to move this camp, Rick. We let Shane call the shots because he was a cop…the rest of us…nobody's leadership material. I talked to everyone earlier…we think that you and Lee should be the leaders."

"Me?!" Lee blurted out in disbelief, listening his name being mentioned. Lee and Rick awkwardly gaped at each other, like two students that never knew each other had been forced to work on an assignment together.

"Yes, you. Rick is a cop and smart, you came to our aid just in time." Dale praised with a smile. "Kenny and Carley told me about how you saved them back in the attack. Plus, you're taking care of this little girl. I think that both you and Rick would be the perfect ones to lead us."

"Okay then…" Lee assented with a frown.

"Also, one more thing." Dale told them. "Lilly's been keeping track of the days ever since the beginning. Unless she messed up along the way…today's Christmas."

"That's great! The kids will be thrilled…" Lee concurred with a smirk.

However, Rick, who donned a very severe and austere expression, gripped one of Dale's shoulders and one of Lee's. "No! Absolutely not! Nobody can know this!"

"But Rick, won't it a little holiday spirit cheer up the place…" Lee suggested, but was immediately cut off.

"You don't get it Lee. How are we going to explain to the kids, to my son Carl, that on top of everything, Santa isn't finding them this year?! I don't wanna upset the kids. Let's just skip this over this year." Rick elaborated in whispers, to make sure no one heard.

"Now that I think about it…you're kinda right." Lee assented, with an elevated brow. "Anyways, let's get everybody together. We've wasted enough time."

"Of course. Everybody's waiting for y'all." Dale explained.

The three men turned around on their heels and paced around the corner of the camper. There, they saw the mob of people, herded in a semi-cercle, awaiting for their new leaders to speak. Lee did a quick count; there were nineteen of them in the group; T-Dog and Clementine being absent.

"Okay, people!" Rick voiced loudly. "As you all know, we're heading out and we're leaving this place. I've deemed that it's no longer safe. I've thought long and hard about where we should go…my decision was the CDC."

"The CDC?!" Lilly repeated in a critic tone. "How do we know they're still operable?"

"Yeah, she's right!" Larry agreed with his daughter. "Look how the army did back in Atlanta! What's the chance that the CDC hasn't succumbed to the walkers yet!?"

"We've got on other place to go." Rick advocated with a strong voice. "If the CDC has fallen, then we'll retreat and find some other place to go. Right now, it's our only hope."

"And just who the hell made you guys the new leaders?!" Larry demanded.

"Dad, calm down!" Lilly muttered to her dad. "We're almost out of pills. If you get too pissed off and have a heart attack, it won't be good for neither of us!"

"I just don't know why we gotta do what these two say." Larry declared.

"We're not forcing anyone to stay." Rick assured with a relentless expression. "If you think that your chances would be better out on the road, you can go. This ain't a dictatorship."

"Pfft." Larry hissed as his final argument.

"Anyway, when we'll be out on the road, be careful." Lee cautioned. "If you come across trouble, honk just once and we'll stop the convoy."

"Anybody got any questions?" Rick demanded.

Morales rose his hand. "Yes, Morales?" Lee enquired.

"We're not staying." Morales sadly confessed.

"Are you sure?" Rick confirmed that their decision was made. "Out there, you won't have anyone to watch your back."

"We've got family in Birmingham." Miranda intervened, with a sweet voice. "We wanna be with our own."

"Of course." Rick complied with a head gesture. "Be safe out there." Rick approached Morales and shook his hand. "Be safe out there."

"You too." Morales bit his lip, as he squeezed Rick's hand. "Hope you find what you're looking for."

"Alright, everybody!" Lee shouted, shelling his mouth so he would be heard better. "Get inside a car and let's go! Don't look back."

The crowd began dispersing, everyone cramming into some random vehicle. Most of the cars had to be shared between families. Their little convoy consisted of Dale's camper, in which Lee, Clem, T-Dog, Andrea, Dale, Rick and his family would travel, Glenn's pizza car that harbored him and Allen's family, Daryl's motorcycle, a pick-up truck that hauled Kenny's and Lilly's family and finally, a station wagon that carried Jim (who drove), the remnants of the Peletier family, Carley, Jacqui and Doug.

* * *

><p>After a few minutes, the large group was immensely grateful that the snow had stopped. Albeit the roads and streets were still stodgy with ice, the driving was much easier. All of the vehicles departed in one direction, whilst the one pertaining to Morales and his family drove off in the opposite direction.<p>

Kenny stiffened his hands around the wheels, as he fixed his sight on the camper he was supposed to follow. Duck was coddled within the arms of Katjaa, while Larry and Lilly dawdled on the back row-seating.

Kenny knew that it the trip was going to be a pain in the neck. He was never too fond of Larry, and the rare occasions in which he talked to Lilly it always ended up in a discussion.

"Mommy?" Duck called Katjaa's attention.

"Yeah sweetie?"

"Why isn't Shane coming with us?" Duck asked innocently

Kenny gulped nervously. Ever since the little brawl between the two small town cops, Kenny and Kat had avoided telling Duck the truth. He had every right to know; and even though he was two years older than Clementine; he lacked the maturity and the two parents thought that he was still too young to know the truth.

"Well, uh…Shane had to go back to his home town." Kenny lied, as best as he could. Katjaa glanced at Kenny. "Y'know, he wanted to find his family."

"Really? You haven't told the kid the truth?" Larry censured, with his arms crossed.

"Hey, I don't mean to lack any respect, but this ain't none of your business!" Kenny screamed at the man, peaking at him from the rearview mirror.

"Listen, little man, what really happened to Shane was that he almost…" Larry began rambling, but Lilly stepped in.

"Dad! Shut up! It's none of our business!" Lilly reprehended her father.

"What? The boy's gotta toughen up. How is he gonna survive otherwise?" Larry justified his actions.

* * *

><p>Rick sat in the passenger's seat inside the camper, like he was Dale's co-pilot. "Just go straight forward. We'll just have to make a turn in a few dozen miles." Rick instructed.<p>

"Okey dokey, boss." Dale okayed with a nod.

"Thank God the snow let up, eh?" Rick animadverted with a grin.

"The weather gotta stop shittin' on us some time, right?" Dale said.

Back in the RV, Lee was sitting in one of the sofas built into the RV, as Clementine half-napped next to him. That camper was bigger than anyone could imagine; after all nearly a family could live inside. In the back, there was even a door, that led to a 'bedroom', in which Andrea had isolated herself.

"Why did Shane do that?" Clementine murmured to Lee, so that no one would hear.

Lee meditated for a few seconds. "It's complicated sweet pea. Shane had his motives. He thought that he had nothing to live for. The way he felt led him into making a mistake. It just happened to have cost his life."

"Oh."

Now that Clem had made that question, Lee became more worried. Himself, he wasn't in the merriest of moods, but the fact that he never spoke a lot to Shane made it easier to handle with his death, since there wasn't a big emotional attach. But he was preoccupied about how Clementine was handling it.

Suddenly, Dale stomped on the brakes as fast as he could and honked. The camper wobbled violently. "What's wrong up there?!" T-Dog interrogated.

"There are two people out on the road." Dale declared.


	16. Chapter 16 - The Dairy

**The Walking Dead: A New Day Gone Bye**

**Chapter 16 – The Dairy**

As Dale stopped his RV, the vehicles behind him also began to halt, the barking of the engines dying down. Inside the cars, trucks and motorcycles, the survivors mumbled to each other about what could be happening up front. Everyone already had their weapons rigged, ready to face any danger nearby.

"Stay here." Lee told Clementine, as he got up and headed up front. The girl mumbled something as he reclined back on the seat.

"Hey! You folks in there!" One of the silhouettes shouted from the road, waving his arms. The voice clearing denounced it was being masculine, and he held a jug of gasoline in his hand.

"Goddammit. What do these guys want?!" Rick asked into the air in a grunt.

"What do we do? Just get past them?" Lee proposed, ascending his eyebrows. Ever since the Shane accident, he was trying to get inside his mind that people weren't always as they showed.

"They clearly want something." Rick observed, rubbing his fingers on his chin. "They stopped in front of the convoy. Dale, go tell the others what's happening. Lee and I are going out there."

"Roger that." Dale certified, motioning his head.

"You're gonna talk to them?!" Lori demanded, standing up fast as a bolt, almost knocking Carl over. "What if they're…psychos or anything?!"

"Lori, I know we can't trust them, but we obviously out-number them." Rick reasserted her. "In both gun and man power."

"Well then, off we go." Lee said, before the three men squeezed the tight way all over to the door. "T-Dog, keep an eye on Clem."

"Yeah." T-Dog replied without much enthusiasm.

"Dad?" Carl spoke up with his child voice. Rick's attention shifted back to him fast as lightning. "Just…be careful, okay?"

"Of course, son." Rick asserted with a genuine smile, which had become something rare. "Always."

As Lee, Rick and Dale stepped into the outside, their first instinct was to contract their coats tighter. Albeit the snow had ceased, which avoided a lot of fog and allowed to see things if they weren't distant, the polar temperature was constantly present, piercing their garments and drilled their skin all the way to the bone.

"What's goin' on?!" Daryl was the first to demand, hopping off his motorcycle and slinging his crossbow on his shoulder. Behind him, the array of people began accumulating, marching towards Dale for answers.

"It's fine…just we found some people out on the road. Lee and Rick are talking to them." Dale elucidated with a pacific and calm voice, as the conversation between the strangers happened just a few feet away. The group viewed with eagerness.

"Hey! That's far enough! Don't go anywhere near our people!" Rick yelled at the two men, already having a latent hand on his Colt Python.

"Whoa! Of course! We'll keep our distance!" One of the men, carrying the jug, alleged with prudence, raising his arms slightly.

"We don't want any trouble." Lee stated in a diplomatic manner.

"Of course! Neither do we!" The same man spoke. He had ebony, back-brushed hair-style, his farmboy face riddled with a slight stubble and a few wriggles on the forehead and cheeks. He was heavily dressed, donning a thick, grey coat with a hoody and mittens. "I'm Andrew St. John, and this here is my brother Danny. We're just out looking for gasoline."

The second man awkwardly beckoned. He had slightly shorter hair, but common in color with his sibling. His face, for some reason, looked a bit creepy. His eyes were big and his orbits hollowed-out, creating a grey taint around his eyelids.

Out of the assembly of people, Glenn stepped forward. "What do you need gas for?" The Korean man enquired, tipping his pizza hat.

"Me and my brother come from a dairy." Danny explained with a wide smile and with huge clarity. His voice was modified by a Southern accent, just like his brother Andy. "It's surrounded by an electric fence that keeps out the biters. Place is run on gas."

There was silence for a few seconds, in which some people scratched their heads and wondered who these people were. "Looks like you've got quite the convoy here, which is fine, but if you could spare some gas we'd be much obliged." Andy tried to barter with politeness. "Look, we own a dairy farm up the road. If y'all would be willing, we could talk about some kind of trade."

"What would you possibly have of use to us?" Rick demanded in a threatening tone.

"Well, uh…how're you doing on food?" Danny suggested, putting emphasis on the word food. "We've got plenty at the dairy."

"Guys." Kenny called Lee's and Rick's attention. The duo of leaders turned their heads around to look at the redneck. "Allen did some inventory before we left. We'll be outta rations before the week ends. We need this food, guys."

Rick pondered for a while, his fingers tapping the barrel of his gun repeatedly. "I'll take a few of us to check the place out. Lee, Daryl, and Jim."

"I'll go too." Doug volunteered. "Improve the numbers, if we come across anything dead."

"Then I'm heading out too." Carley also came forward, preparing her gun.

"Actually, I'd prefer if you stayed here." Lee opinionated. "You're quite the shot. I'd feel better if you laid behind and protected the group."

"Are you sure you won't need me there?" Carley insisted, flopping her arms.

"I think the five of us will suffice." Lee commented. "You've got yourselves a deal." Lee hollered at the St. John brothers. "We'll bring some gas to your dairy. In exchange you give us some food to bring back. We'll see how things go on from there."

"Sounds fair." Andy agreed, with a nod and a 'not bad' expression stamped on his face. "A couple gallons should be enough to power all of our generators."

* * *

><p>After Lee had said goodbye to Clementine, and Rick had finally convinced Lori and Carl that they wouldn't have to worry and that he'd be back, they departed with the St. Johns towards the dairy. They had been led through an almost imperceptible side dirt road, which was way cleared from snow than the main roads.<p>

Rick, Jim and Daryl chatted with Andy and Danny, while Lee and Doug lagged a few meters behind. "Thanks for coming along, Doug." Lee showed courtesy with a smirk.

"Sure." Doug modestly acknowledged. "I'd like to get a look at that electric fence they talked about. Might give me some ideas for something I can rig up if we happen to settle in some place."

"Can an electric fence really stop walkers?" Lee curiously asked.

"As long as the zombies aren't completely dehydrated, and the fence has enough juice, yeah, that seems plausible." Doug bedecked with intrigue and cleverness in his voice. "The electricity basically cooks you from the inside out, right?"

"I guess so…" Lee evinced, although he had no idea what he was talking about.

"So if a walker enters in contact with the fence, it'll probably cook its brain." Doug smartly conjectured. "Probably takes a while. And that can't be a good smell…unless it smells like jerky…man, I could go for some jerky."

Doug reached into his pocket, and fiddled around until he pulled out a laser pointer. Lee looked at it with a certain interest. "Whatcha got there?"

"Oh, nothing." Doug flatly said, shoving the object back into his pocket. "Just a little something Glenn gave me from one of his scavenging trips."

"Hey, lollygaggers!" Andy spoke to the two men that slowed down behind them. They delayed their pace so that Doug and Lee could catch up to them. "How 'bout you tell some more about yourself, Lee? Rick here already told us he was a cop."

"Where ya from?" Danny queried, turning to him.

"I'm from Macon." Lee told them with a smile.

"Right here in the heart of Georgia!" Andy eagle-eyed with excitement. "Now that's what I like to hear. Y'all seem to have one hell of a group back there. Who's runnin' things?"

"Lee and I." Rick intervened with a serious expression.

"Conjoint leadership?" Danny verified that he was hearing the right words.

"They do always say two heads are better than one." Andy scrutinized with attention.

"How many people you got there?" Danny questioned.

"We got fifteen." Daryl sputtered, spitting on the ground. The St. Johns gazed at him in disgust. "Family of four left us yesterday."

"Well, we'd love to get you all to the dairy." Andy friendly declared. "We've got a lotta food, and frankly, we could always use a helping hand. Momma's been runnin' the dairy for as…long as I can remember, but now it's…gettin'…"

"YOU THINK YOU GONNA CUT ME OUTTA THIS?!"

"Shit. Get down!" Andy rumbled at the small batch of people.

Everybody crouched, as they understood that there was someone in the near area. "Who is that?" Jim inquired, surveying the area around them. All of them were hyperventilating, the build-up making them shiver since anything sudden could happen at any moment.

"Let's get to cover." Danny ordered, as he began creeping in a squat towards the treeline.

The group followed them, making sure their heads were down and that they didn't step on sticks or anything. Rick glared at the St. Johns, and then suspiciously told Lee. "Lee. I don't like where this is going."

"What're you thinking?" Lee quizzed, as they penetrated into the hiding spot the foliage and vegetation provided.

"This might be an ambush." Rick hypothesized, speaking to Lee in mutters.

"Let's just get into cover." Lee said, not being able to rationalize at the moment.

Once they were well camouflaged in the trees, they peaked through the bushes and the leaves and stared at the dirt road; all careful not to be caught. Two men were arguing. Both of them wore a bunch of clothing that covered their appearance; ski masks, bandanas, sun glasses, beanies...and they were both armed, one with a shotgun, the other with a crossbow.

"Who the fuck are these people?!" Daryl demanded in a low voice, already readying his bow.

"Ssh." Andy shushed him. "Fuckin' assholes is what they are."

"What do we do?!" Doug asked the group in a panic, but nobody responded.

"I think I might get a shot at them." Daryl stated, looking down the scope of his crossbow. "Get them by surprise."

"No!" Andy digressed, gradually lowering Daryl's weapon with his hardened palm. "Let's just wait. Hopefully they'll be over soon and just move on."

"Yeah. He's right, stand down Daryl." Rick agreed, eyeing with caution and earnest the two fighting men.

In the glimpse of a heartbeat, one of the dudes kicked the other one in the stomach. The latter bent in two, and the one with the ski mask and shotty took the chance and fired towards the head of the other guy.

"Oh!" Doug silently gasped.

The dead body collapsed, the dead bandit's clothes being soaked in blood and incised with bullet holes. "Fuck you!" The remaining bandit profaned, shooting once again against the cadaver, gashing blood into the air. "Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you!" He repeated, each swear-word accompanied with another bullet wasted.

The raging bandit finally stopped, spinning around and moseying in the opposite direction like nothing had happened. "Asshole." He insulted before disappearing.

"World out here has gone to shit." Andy observed with revulsion.

"I hear ya." Jim concurred.

"Let's just get back to the dairy where it's safe." Andy said, before he stood up and headed towards their destination.

One by one, each one of the survivors leaped to their feet, reluctantly taking their eyes off the dead body. Eventually, they essayed to forget those horrid images, and they followed Andy.

* * *

><p>"There it is." Andy announced with pride. "The St. Johns' family dairy!"<p>

As the small group arrived at their destined location, they were baffled with an amazing panorama. As the clouds began to stir and disappear, tiny straws of sunshine highlighted the beauty of the farm. Avalanches of snow lingered on the tiles of the vast barn and on the endless fields of corn crops, making it look just like Christmas. The large space was surrounded by birch trees and the so mentioned electric fence, that buzzed and whizzed at the survivors passed through the entrance.

Lee took a glance to their left, and saw a sign with a phone number and the dairy's logo. The St. John brothers were leading them towards the main house, that stood in the center of the property. It was quite tall, having two-stories and a porch decorated with icing and stalactites.

"Y'all can see now how we've kept this place so safe." Andy affirmed, indicating with his index the electric wires wrapped around the wooden fences. Doug stopped for a while and inspected the wiring with a smirk.

"Them electric wires work?" Jim asked.

"Ya betcha! They fry like bugs in a zapper." Andy proclaimed with vehemence. "We're pushing four thousand Volts through that thing, with generators and amps."

"Oh wow! You guys must know a thing or two about wire." Doug complimented, content to have someone to debate engines.

"Had a guy who did, yeah." Danny corrected.

"We can't have the kids around the fence." Rick observed with a critical eye.

"Don't worry, we have plenty of things to keep 'em distracted!" Andy reassured, as the men stopped in front of the house.

"Oh wow! You guys have enough electricity to run the whole place!" Doug chuckled, as he looked around the dairy like a kid in a candy shop.

"It's worth protectin'." Andy told him. "Hence all the juice."

"I thought I saw y'all with company down the drive!" A woman exclaimed, as she approached the guests with a basket in her hand. She was a red-haired woman, a bit stuffed around the sides, who had a loud voice and seemed to represent exactly what Southern hospitality meant.

"Guys, this here is our momma." Andy introduced the woman.

"I'm Brenda St. John, and welcome to the St. John dairy!" Brenda welcomed the new-comers.

"This here's Lee. He's from Macon." Andy disclosed to his mother.

"A couple of our farmhands were from Macon!" Brenda noted. "They grow 'em good there."

"They've got a couple more friends camping down the road." Danny conceded, intercepting the chat.

"Oh my goodness. You guys are pretty vulnerable…have you got someone with survival experience to lead your group?" Brenda worriedly inquired.

"I'm the leader along with Lee." Rick bluntly stated.

"Ricky here used to a cop." Daryl added.

"That's wonderful!" Brenda praised. "And now that you're all here, we'll make sure you're good and comfortable."

"We brought gasoline." Lee enticed. Jim showed Brenda a container full of gas he had siphoned for the St. Johns.

"Oh my! We appreciate the gesture." Brenda thanked, before he rose her hand and exhibited the contents of the basket. The survivors were casted in a spell once they saw what it was. It was a batch of warm bread, releasing a satisfying smell into the air and inside their nostrils. "These are for y'all. Fresh baked this morning."

"Holy moly!" Doug exclaimed, his face attracted to the food.

He gripped the basket, and in a quick move, he picked up a piece of bread and took a large bite out of it. He chewed viciously like a rat, before he jerked his head and saw that everybody was awkwardly looking at him. "Sorry." He said with a stuffed face, as he stopped chewing.

"Can't get stuff like that anymore." Danny grinned. "Not without a cow for milk and butter that's fo' sure."

"That's right. Hopefully Maybelle will make it through this bout of whatever she's got and be with us for a good long while." Brenda wished with a silent sigh.

"Your cow is sick?" Lee frowned. "What's she-"

"We have a vet!" Doug summoned ecstatically. Rick's expression became more uptight and stiff when he told them that information. "We can bring her here! We can help you folks out!"

"A vet?! Oh my, our prayers have been answered!" She uttered with joyous relief. "Well, how about this. Y'all go get your veterinarian friend and I'll prepare a big dinner. A big feast for y'all hungry souls. You guys can bring your whole group here for the day. It'll be nice to have some folks to help around here again. Danny, why don't you come out and help me out in the kitchen."

Danny nodded, before he and his mother spun around and strolled calmly towards the house, the survivors' mouths already watering about the dream of a hot meal.

"Why don't I go back and round everybody for the trip back here?" Doug proposed, still cradling the basket in his arms like it was an infant.

"Might wanna take someone with you. Ya never know." Andrew adverted with precaution.

"Rick, why don't you head back?" Lee assigned him a task. Rick inquired with his glare if he was going to be okay around those strangers. "That way, Lori and Carl won't be concerned."

"Fine. Let's go." Rick flatly ordered, as the two men departed towards the exit and toward the snowy dirt road.

"Jim, Lee, why don't y'all take a look around. Once you're settled in, I could use some help securin' the perimeter." Andy declared.

"What's wrong with it?" Jim interrogated with his greasy arms folded.

"Sometimes, the dead get tangled up in the wire before they fry, and end up knocking over a post." Andy explained with clarity. "It'd be a big help. You can learn a little somethin' about our fence. I'm a gonna top off the generators 'fore they run dry. Come get me when you're ready."

"Okay." Lee assented. Andy jogged towards a corner of the fence, in which Lee could see a gigantic machine and a variety of empty gas jugs littered beside it. "So, Jim…before we think about bringin' our whole group up here, we gotta make sure it's safe for everybody. So…can you keep your eyes open for things? I wanna take a look around."

Jim nodded without a word, before he turned around and headed towards the fence, discretely examining it. _Man of few words,_ Lee thought with a grimace.

"I'm, uh…gonna go." Daryl leaked, wielding his crossbow.

"What? Why? Where?" Lee sputtered, being baffled.

"I'm gonna go hunt something." Daryl confessed. "This place is too calm. I was never the fella to just sit and dwell."

"Well, Daryl, be safe out there." Lee wished him luck, before Daryl marched towards the woods.


	17. Chapter 17 - Breaking Bad

**The Walking Dead: A New Day Gone Bye**

**Chapter 18 – Breaking Bad**

Lee closed shut the gate of the dairy behind him. Jim was still examining the fence, Andy was crouched near the generator, dipping jerry cans inside the generator, Daryl was out amusing himself in a hunting trip, Brenda and Danny were crammed inside the kitchen cooking dinner and finally but not least, Doug and Rick were going to bring the entire group to the place.

Lee marched towards Andy, whilst looking around him to detect any kinds of dangers. He spotted a broken swing dangling from a tree branch, and in a hidden corner of the area, a workbench accompanied with a few tools such as a hacksaw and wooden boards. Lee took a quick peep at the white picket fence that surrounded the main house.

_Hmm. Pointy, _he thought.

When he approached Andy, the latter immediately rose his head. As Lee stood still in front of him, Andy continued to supply the generator with gasoline. "Hi. I'm glad you guys decided to help us out."

"Well, we're glad to help." Lee admitted in a friendly tone.

"I noticed back at the road that your group is pretty well armed." Andy opined with a keen eye. "You been stockpiling, uh?"

"Actually, those are all guns Rick and Sha…those are guns Rick brought to the group." Lee stated, almost mentioning the name of their lost friend/enemy, depending on which way he would see it. "How many guns do you have?"

"Well, it's just Danny's rifle and mine." Andy informed, scratching his stubble. "We don't have as many guns as you do. But we really only use them when we go off the property. Inside, the fence is all we need to keep us safe."

Lee thought for a while about what he could say next. "We can't be the first people you've invited up to the dairy."

"Well, no." Andy articulated, shaking that logic away with his hand. "We've made similar deals with other folks, trading gas for food. But ultimately, they moved on, looking for the people they lost contact with."

"Is the fence enough to keep out the walkers?" Lee asked.

"Walkers? Is that what you call them?" Andy chuckled. "That's good. The old one wouldn't have but Mac, he was our foreman, figured it out how to amp it up with the generators. We used to sit out here some nights and watch the sons a' bitches sizzle and pop when they got too close." Lee ruminated for a few seconds about Andy's manner of thinking. In his mind, viewing zombies getting electrocuted wasn't his life wish, but he understood the man. "Closest thing to entertainment these days I guess."

"These generators, they work?" Lee enquired further.

"We got lots." Andy declared. "And we gotta keep trading for fuel as much as we can. But they all do work together to do the trick. Like us."

"Well, I'm gonna get settled in real quick. Jim and I will clear out the zombies as soon as possible." Lee told Andy in a reassuring manner.

"Okay." Andy said as he focused once again on his task. "Remember not to take too long. The sooner we get them outta there, the safer we'll be."

Lee nodded in agreement, before he spun around and marched towards Jim. Most of the ice and snow around the land was beginning to melt, but the sky became greyer by the minute. You could say a storm was coming. However, Lee felt at peace at the dairy, it was way more secure than out on the open road.

"Jim? You ready to head out there?" Lee asked.

Jim turned his head towards Lee. The two men stood facing each other during a few seconds of awkward silence, before Jim nodded without a word.

"Well then. Let's go." Lee spoke, waving with his hand.

**.**

Somewhere in the midst of the forest, a different man was concentrated on another mission. Daryl Dixon had been walking for like, thirty minutes, with his crossbow ready at all times. At any moment now, a squirrel, weasel, raccoon was bound to appear. And he had to be prepared for it.

Daryl had travelled very away from the dairy, probably more distant than he should have. But he enjoyed hunting, and he needed a total solitude to be focused. His father, Will Dixon, was a bad, evil son of a bitch, who never gave two shits about his two sons. Albeit he didn't like it, Daryl found himself bearing some similarities with him. There was his taste for hunting game and his tough badass attitude.

At the very least, he was glad Will Dixon had been devoured in the beginning. He had been put down by a friend of his, Jess Collins, who also ended up perishing. Daryl wasn't even sure why he cried when he found Will, lying on the floor with his guts wide open.

Daryl's trip down Memory Lane was interrupted when he almost toppled an object. He let out a surprised grunt, before he regained his balance and glared at the object. It was an empty food can, that was now rolling through the dirt tinkling.

Daryl hummed in curiosity. He squatted near the tin can and picked it up, inspecting the interior. It was empty, picked clean. _Recent, _he thought.

Just when he looked upwards, he noticed a camp site lurking amid the woods. He got back up, tossing the can onto a pair of bushes, and investigated the camp. It was deemed abandoned; no one in sight. The first thing that he saw was a big, red tent, that didn't seem to have anyone inside too. Along with it, there were two bendable tables, both of them wedged with carton boxes, most of them having a logo of 'Save-Lots'. A fire pit stood in the middle of the zone, in which a water kettle was still cooking.

Not knowing what was in store for him, Daryl stepped forward and entered the camp.

**.**

Back at the dairy, Lee and Jim were strolling side by side along the endless fence that stretched until the horizon. Up until then, they hadn't come across any fallen posts, but Lee could spot some in the distance. Not a single word was exchanged among the two men, Jim being a man of few words.

"Corpse there." Jim indicated, pointing his finger at a cadaver that was drooped over the fence.

"Okay…let's get it off." Lee mumbled.

As the duo stopped in front of the dead body, they stared at it with disgust. The zombie had its skull shaved clean, but had various scars and exposed wounds on its putrid skin, which was black from the grilling. It had an arrow stuck in its neck, which chained him to the fence.

Jim wrapped his fingers around the arrow, before he ripped it off. Lee proceeded by placing his foot on its chest, and then kicking it off the fence.

"C'mon. I'm sure there're still a few more out there." Lee ordered, as they resumed their hiking. Lee brainstormed for something to say. "So…you got any comments about…anything?"

Jim shook his head negatively.

"Well, okay…" Lee assented. "Y'know, the group's here for you if you need anything. Some of us might have…lost a lot…but we still have each other."

Jim glanced at Lee. "I like the group." He bluntly disclosed. "I would've put a bullet in my head by now if I were alone."

Jim fixed his eyes once again on the panorama in front of him. Lee frowned in surprise; it was rare to see Jim say a full sentence. Lee then jerked his head, noting the next walker. This one was ninety degrees bent over the fence, its hands clutching the wires.

"Here's the next one." Lee asserted.

Jim latched onto the walkers shoulders and shoved it away. But when it dropped behind, its enclosed fists kept it attached to the fence. "Its hands burned right into the wire. I think they fused together."

Just then, Lee remembered the relic he had found back in the barn before Atlanta. He reached into his belt, before pulling out a hatchet. As he toyed with the weapon in his hand to get a hold of it, he elevated his arm, quickly downing it and severing one of the walker's hands. He rose his hand once again, and repeating the drill, he separated the second hand. The corpse collapsed backwards on the ground, whilst the hands remained on the wires.

Seeing that he couldn't do anything about the rotten fists, he and Jim proceeded along the path. A few feet away, they came across a nastier accident. This time around, a lurker had toppled and burnt on the wires, taking down with it two post. Jim and Lee would have to put it back in place.

Jim hopped to the other side of the fence, since he'd get better leverage to lift it. Lee kicked the zombie's stomach for a while, before he certified that there was no life within that dead walker. He then leaped graciously over the fallen barbed wire, and crouched near Jim to help him.

"On three. One. Two…three!" Lee instructed.

As his count had reached three, the two men snorted as they utilized all their forces to push the post back in place. Once it was in place, the two men scrubbed their hands against one another and sighed, contemplating their handy work.

Suddenly, the electric fence seemed to gain life. The corpse still tangled in the wire began crisping and buzzing, sending sparkles into the air.

"The fence is on!" Jim observed.

"What?!" Lee exclaimed in shock, realizing that he and Jim were stranded outside the dairy. "Why the hell would he turn the-"

Without warning, Lee was interrupted when an arrow whizzed through the air, coming from the forest. The bolt struck Jim right in the shoulder. Jim squawked in pain, as he clenched the bloodied wound on his back, which still had the arrow firm in it.

"YOU DON'T FUCK WITH US!" A voice yelled in threat from the woods.

Lee's brain started racing. At the same moment, there was now a rain of arrows toppling down upon them, and they were just sitting ducks out in the open. Lee then twirled his head around, and spotted a gate in the distance with a silo standing beside it.

"Get to the gate!" Lee commanded with a holler.

The duo dashed towards their escape with hurry, but before they managed to two arrows landed right by Jim's feet, missing him by inches. Lee looked around him once again, and then pinpointed a tractor they could use for cover. The two men sprinted towards the rusty machinery, jumping onto their fours to avoid getting shot.

"Who the fuck are these people?!" Lee rhetorically demanded.

"We…we gotta get the tractor movin'!" Jim grunted from the pain. "To reach t' gate!"

Lee nodded in comprehension. He peeked, showing his head, and managed to see various silhouettes within the vegetation, shooting arrows at them. Lee then had to duck to avoid getting hit by a projectile. The urban man then elevated his torso a bit, just barely showing the top of his head. He essayed to push with all his might, but acknowledged that something was keeping the tractor stuck in place.

Just as Lee went back to a crouch, an arrow collided with the rusty vehicle, making ricochet and bouncing off. Lee headed towards the back of the piece of junk, and noticed a plow attachment, whose blades were deeply dug inside the dirt. Lee had to find a way to un-dig them. He surveyed and cautiously examined the mechanism, until he saw a lever. He pulled it, and was glad to see that the plow's blades were risen and out of the ground.

Then he crawled towards the front of the tractor. Just when he thought that everything was set to go, he spotted something blocking the wheel. Lee took a gape, and detect a chock in front of the tires. With a swift move, Lee reached in and removed the block, as the tractor slowly began sliding down towards the gate.

"Let's go! Keep your head down!" Lee adverted, pacing at the same rhythm as the tractor.

However, the joy of being protected soon died down, when the tractor bumped into something and halted. "Lee! It's one of the deadies we pushed down earlier!" Jim told Lee.

Lee reacted and glanced at the front of the tractor, and spotted one of the walkers they had taken care of, the female Lee had cut off its hands. Lee breathed heavily, before he gripped the zombie's wrists, and was forced to stand up to get it out of the way. With strength, Lee pulled the cadaver out of the way and tossed it to the side like a dirty rag.

But just as Lee thought again he was safe, the tractor stopped as it hit another walker.

"Goddammit!" Lee sputtered, grasping the knuckles of the next lurker.

The dead zombie came back to life. As Lee made contact with it, it reanimated, straggling to bite Lee's hand. Lee hollered in fear, tugging the biter out of the way any manner he could without getting munched.

He was lucky, when the zombie was bisected in two, separating its torso from its legs and leaving a red, gory mess on the green grass. Lee's jaw dropped, seeing the terrifying images, before he shook his head and knew he had to get back in action. With a sloppy movement, he threw the remaining half of the walker to the side.

"We're almost there!" Lee encouraged his hurt comrade, as the tractor got ever closer to the gate. Unknown to Lee, the remnants of the walker was now struggling, crawling towards him from behind. Out of destiny or sheer luck, an arrow flew by and pierced the same walker right through its skull, killing it instantly.

As soon as the tractor passed by the gate, both Lee and Jim dived onto their feet and ran towards it. Lee devastated the gate with a kick, opening an entrance for the both of them.

"YOU LUCKY SONS A' BITCHES! GO AHEAD AND RUN, WE AIN'T GOIN' NOWHERE!"

**A/N: Well guys, I hope you enjoyed the story. With Jim shot and Daryl finding a mysterious camp in the middle of the woods, how will the story unfold? See ya next time!**


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